LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 






Shelf JlS^ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



WORKS OF J. M. BUCKLEY, LL.D. 

Supposed Miracles. ........ .50 

Christians and the Theater, . . . . . . .60 

A Hereditary Consumptive's Successful Battle for Life, . .50 

Oats or Wild Oats? Common Sense for Young Men, . . 1.50 

The Midnight Sun ; the Tsar and the Nihilist. . . . 2.50 

Faith Healing. Christian Science, and Kindred Phenomena, . 1.25 

Travels in Three Continents. ..... 3.50 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/travelsinthreeco01buck 




2 M 




TRAVELS IN THREE 
CONTINENTS 



Europe * Hfrica * Hsia 



J. Mi BUCKLEY, LL.D. 





NEW YORK: HUNT & EATON 

CINCINNATI : CRANSTON & CURTS 

MDCCCXCV 



4^ 



Copyright by 

HUNT & EATON, 

1894. 



Composition, electrotyping, 

printing, and binding by 

Hunt & Eaton, 

130 Fifth Ave., New Yorlc. 



: v- 



" 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



In reading accounts of the same regions by different 
travelers, I have often been struck with the dissimilarities 
resulting from the personal equation. Each sees what 
he takes with him, so that several views are more illumi- 
nating than one. Because of this I hope that there will be 
a place for another record of travel in many of the most in- 
teresting parts of the world. 

Learning by experience, in protracted tours, that a cer- 
tain amount of information is necessary to the interpreta- 
tion of what one sees and hears, I have endeavored to 
interweave such knowledge with the narrative without im- 
peding the natural flow of description. Thus I desire to 
aid those who contemplate this journey to prepare for it ; 
to refresh the recollection of those who have preceded me ; 
and enable those who do not expect to cross the ocean 
to see, "while looking through my eyes," almost "as 
well as with their own." J. M. B. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

From New York to the Frontier of Spain. 

To London — In Paris — Anniversary of the Coup d'etat — Glimpse of Bordeaux — 
The Grotto of Lourdes — Pau and the Pyrenees — Bayonne and Biarritz 1-9 

CHAPTER II. 

" I Take my Journey into Spain." 

Entering Spain — Scenes on the Frontier — San Sebastian — Protestant Missions — 
The Infant King — Reminiscences of Lafayette — Burgos — Carthusian Mon- 
astery — Tombs of the Parents of Queen Isabella — The Convent — Legends of 
the Cid — The Cathedral and Castle 10-18 

CHAPTER III. 
The Spanish Capital. 

Location of the Capital — Climate — Puerta del Sol — Royal Palace — Review of 
Troops — Picture Gallery — Visit to the Cortes — Spanish Orators and States- 
men — The Virgin's Sandal — Protestant Missions — Spanish Horsemen. . . 19-29 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Eseorial, Toledo, and Cordova. 

Situation of the Eseorial — Character of Philip — Interior of the Eseorial — Descrip- 
tion of Toledo — Its Cathedral — Picturesque Gates — Ruined Walls — Ancient 
Churches — The Alcazar — Journey to Cordova — Cathedral and Great Mosque. 

30-42 
CHAPTER V. 
" Proud Seville. ' ' 

General Description of Seville — Tobacco and Porcelain Factories — The Hospital — 
Picture Gallery — The Colombina Library — The Cathedral — Tomb of the Son 
of Columbus 43-49 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Alhambra. 

Approaching Granada — Not Disappointed in the Alhambra — Description — History 
— Purpose — Splendor — Iconoclasm of the Christians — Ravages of the French 
under Napoleon — Mystery and Magic of the Alhambra 50-57 



viii Contents. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Granada and. Malaga. 

The Cartujan Convent — Its Beautiful Church — Cathedral and the Sepulchers and 
Graves of Ferdinand and Isabella — Gypsies — Malaga— Its Fruit, Superb Scenery 
— Beggars — Visitors — Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve — Suburbs 58-65 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Peculiarities of the Spaniards. 

Aspect of Spanish People — Spectacles in Squares and Streets — Spanisn Politeness — 
Amusements — Morals — Lotteries — Women — Guardias Civiles — Religion, Cath- 
olic and Protestant 66-73 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Bullfights of Spain. 

Popularity of Bullfights — Cost — Description— Attempts to Suppress — Attitude of 
the Church 74~8o 

CHAPTER X. 

To " Afric's Sunny Fountains." 

Voyage to Tangier — Views Along the Route — Arrival — Street Scenes — A Moorish 
School 81-86 

CHAPTER XI. 
The Eye of Africa. 
The Great Market — Caravan — Distinctions Indicated by Dress — Slavery Past and 
Present — The Prison — Coffee House — Suburbs : 89-93 

CHAPTER XII. 

Condition and Outlook of Morocco. 

Difficulty of Obtaining Information — Government — The Sultan — Mohammedanism 
in Morocco — Decadence and Probable Fate of the Nation 94-100 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Gibraltar. 

Landing — Steamer Flying American Flag — Long Service of the Hon. Horatio J. 
Sprague — Famous Visitors to Gibraltar — Population — Military Aspect — Curious 
Spectacles— Markets — Tailless Monkeys 103-108 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Gibraltar. — (Continued.) 

Geological Formation — History— Tour of Exploration — View from the Highest 
Point — Gibraltar Compared with the North Cape— Power of England . 109-1 16 



Contents. ix 

CHAPTER XV. 
Algeria. 

Voyage from Gibraltar to Oran— Description of Oran — Railway Journey to Algiers 
—Its Appearance on Approaching by Night— Jardin cles Plantes— Old Arab 
Town — " Marabouts " HQ- I2 5 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Algiers and the Atlas Mountains. 

The Black Virgin— Strange Ceremony — Interview with a Moor — Algerine Pirates — 
Arab Cemetery — Bearded Priests — Power of the Jews — Sir Peter Coates — Tour 
to the Atlas Mountains — French Engineering — Apes — Wild Animals. 126-136 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Marseilles and the French Riviera. 

Harbor — Cathedral — Church of Notre Dame de la Garde — Cannes— Nice— Monaco 
and Monte Carlo— Tragic Incidents — Mentone — Mr. Spurgeon 137-142 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Genoa and Milan. 

Statue of Columbus — Description of City — Cathedral of San Lorenzo — History — 
The Conservatorii — Via di Circotivallazione — Campo Santo — Situation of 
Milan — Cathedral — The Roof — View from the Tower — Church of San Am- 
brogio — Gallery of Victor Emmanuel — Cemetery — Parade Ground — Triumphal 
Arch 1 43-1 57 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Venice — The Enchanted City. 

History — Situation — Piazza and Church of San Marco — Tomb of St. Mark — Palace 
of the Doges — Roman Catholic Mission Church — Grand Canal — Campanile — 
View from the Top of the Tower 158-166 

CHAPTER XX. 

Florence — Shrine of Art, Science, Literature. 

Famous Artists and Scientists — Situation of Florence— Cathedral — Church of 
Santa Croce— Monastery of St. Mark — Fiesole — Ruins and Views — Galileo's 
Tower — The " Golden Book " 167-173 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Rome— The Encyclopedic City. 

Glance at Rome's History — Seven Hills — Tiber — Pantheon— Column of Marcus 
Aurelius — Grand Circus — Forum — Arch of Constantine — Appian Way — ■ 
Mamertine Prison — Catacombs— Augustinian Monastery — Capucine Cemetery 
—St. Peter's — Palace of the Vatican — Sistine Chapel — St. Paul Without the 
Walls — New Rome 174-186 



x Contents. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Naples — The Wanton Beauty. 

Noted Residents of and Visitors to Naples— Beauty of Situation— Cathedral — 
Miracle of Liquefaction — National Museum — Aquarium — Neapolitan Peculi- 
arities and Morals — Corso Garibaldi and Corso Vittorio Ema7inele — Improve- 
ments 187-192 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Vesuvius and Pompeii. 

Ascent of Vesuvius — At the Summit — History of the Volcano — Edge of the Crater 
— The Descent — Pompeii — Streets — Houses — Baths — Theater — Pathetic Dis- 
coveries 193-199 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Italian People. 

Excitability — Vanity — Superstition — Patience— Simplicity — Improvement — Igno- 
rance — Loretto — Religious Relics and Alleged Miracles— Work of Protestants 
— Opposition Encountered 200-204 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Going Down to Egypt. 

Brindisi — Coast of Greece — Candia — Gaudo — Coast of Egypt — Arriving in Alex- 
andria — Pharos — View of City and Harbor from the Base of Pompey's Pillar — 
Site of Cleopatra's Needles — Journey to Cairo 205-209 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Cairo — The " Mother of the World," and Heliopohs. 

Strange Scenes — Citadel and Mosque of Mohammed Ali — Mosque of Sultan Hassan 
■ — Mosque of Amer at Old Cairo — Island of Roda — Nilometer — Palace of 
Gezireh and of the Khedive — The Only Egyptian Lunatic Asylum — Virgin's 
Tree — Heliopolis — Ostrich Farm 210-220 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 

Road to Pyramids, and Scenes upon It — Traveling Bedouins — Ascent of Great 
Pyramid— View from Summit — Interior of Cheops — " King's Chamber." 

221-228 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The Pyramids and the Sphinx. — (Continued.) 

History of Pyramids and Reasons Why They Were Built — Description of the 
Sphinx — Antiquity — Campbell's Tomb — Extraordinary Agility of a Bedouin — 
Incidents of the Trip 229-237 



Contents. xi 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

On the Nile. 

Importance of the Nile— Cause of Annual Overflow — Influence upon Intellectual 
Character of Egyptians — Way of Traveling on the Nile before Steamboats 
Were Introduced — Passengers on the Prince Abbas 238-242 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Memphis and Sakkara. 

Scene at Starting — The Khedive's Steam Yacht — Scenery — Scramble of Donkey 
Boys for Riders — The Greatest Capital of Egypt — Colossal Statue of Rameses 
II — Sakkara — The Step Pyramid and Serapeum — Description of Interior of 
Step Pyramid — Account of Discovery of Serapeum by Mariette Bey.. 243-24S 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Tomb of Tih, and the Voyage and Visit to Beni-Hassan. 

Painting in Tomb of Tih — Pyramid of Maydoom — Characteristic Scenes — Nile 
Fish — Palms — Cliffs of Gebel et Tayr — The " Mountain of the Bird," and its 
Legend — Origin of Fable of Charon and the River Styx — Tombs of Beni- 
Hassan 249-255 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

A Diversified Journey. 

Village of Beni-Hassan — Methods Used by Beggars — Sugar Factory — Dom Palms 
— Asyoot— Oriental Market Scenes 256-262 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Asyoot to the Temple of Denderah. 

Bazaars and Market Place — Starting Point of English Expedition to the Soudan — 
Ancient Lycopolis — Evidences of Roman Occupation — Mission of United Pres- 
byterian Church — Ophthalmia Prevalent in Egypt — Scenes at Farshoot and 
Keneh — The Temple of Denderah 263-267 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Denderah and Nile Experiences. 

Forgotten Credentials — Chapel of Isis — Stories of the Tentyrites — Inhabitants of 
Orubos — The Crocodile — The Shadoof and Sakeeyah — Silence in Egypt. 

268-274 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

Thebes. 

Approaching Thebes — Situation — History — Village of Luxor — Ruins and Village 
Life Contrasted — " Father Abraham's " Knowledge of Antiquities — "Antiquity 
Smith" — Avenue of Sphinxes — Karnak — Description of Great Temple — Weird 
Scene 275-283 



xii Contents. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Temples and Tombs of Thebes, on the West Bank of the Nile. 

Temple of Koornah — Approach to the Rameseum— Sculptures and Statue of 
Rameses— Ride through the Plains — Temple of Ptolemy Philopater — Belzoni's 
Tomb 284-292 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Ascent of the Libyan Mountains. 

Barrenness of the Mountains — View from Summit — The Descent — Colossi — "Vocal 
Statue of Memnon " 293-298 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Life in Modern Thebes. 

Entertainment by the Consul at Thebes — An Oriental Dinner at the House of the 
British Consul — Wonderful Boy Gymnast — A Huge Monkey — Karnak by 
Moonlight — Varieties of Stone in Egypt 299-302 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

From Thebes to the First Cataract. 

Temple of Edfoo — Kom-ombos — Island of Elephantine — Camel Riding — Assouan 
— Nubian Boatmen's Song — Ride to Phils — Ancient Methods of Quarrying 
Stone — Description of Phila? — Temple of Isis — The First Cataract — Herod- 
otus on the Sources of the Nile — Aquatic Feats at the Cataract — An Hour in 
the Desert — Experience of Foolhardy Tourists with Robbers — -Nubians — A 
Solitary Palm 303-314 

CHAPTER XL. 
Down the River. 

Southern Cross — To Luxor — Meeting David Dudley Field — Aground Fifteen 
Times— An Alarming Illness — Arrival at Cairo — Kaiserswerth Hospital — ■ 
Boolak Museum 315-322 

CHAPTER XLI. 

Mohammedanism in Egypt. 

Theories of Mohammed — Peculiarities of the Koran and its Teachings — Polygamy 
— Mohammedan Services — University to Educate Mohammedan Priests — 
Chapel of the Blind — Performance of Howling Dervishes — The Copts — Coptic 
Churches and Language — Greek Church — Protestant Missions 3 2 3~333 

CHAPTER XLII. 

The Suez Canal, and the Last of Egypt. 

An Entertainment at the House of Dr. Grant Bey — Mr. Petrie — A Sandstorm — By 
Rail to the Suez Canal — Ismailia — History and Description of the Canal — 
Ride on the Canal to Port Said — Characteristics of the Place — Festivities at the 
Opening of the Canal — Leaving Africa 334-.33S 



Contents. xiii 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

Entering the Holy Land. 

Approaching the Turkish Empire — The Harbor at Jaffa — Landing — Ancient 
History — Modern Features — Fruit and Flowers — People — Incident of Napoleon 
Bonaparte 341-3.54 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

" In the Way Going Up to Jerusalem." 

The Road to Jerusalem — Plain of Sharon — Flowers — Road to Lydda — Tower of 
Ramleh — Gezer — Valley of Ajalon (Yalo) — Latrun — Amwas — Abou-Gosch — 
Mizpah — Jerusalem ! 345-35 1 

CHAPTER XLV. 

Jerusalem. 

Situation — History — Population 35 2 -357 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

Outside the Walls of Jerusalem. 

The Valleys of Gihon and Hinnom — Pool of Siloam — Fountain of the Virgin — 
Valley of the Kidron — Garden of Gethsemane — Tomb of the Virgin — Mount of 
Olives — View from the Summit — Tombs of the Kings — Tomb and Grotto of 
Jeremiah — Walls and Gates of the City 358-374 

CHAPTER XLVII. 

The Sacred Places. 

The Haram EshSherif — Herod's Temple — Mosque of Omar — Mosque El-Aksa — 
Wailing Place of the Jews — Via Dolorosa— -Church of the Holy Sepulcher — 
Identity of Site , 377~394 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 

Bethlehem and the Convent of Mar Saba. 

An Ancient Guide — "A Vain Thing for Safety "—Tomb of Rachel — Situation and 
History of Bethlehem — Birthplace of Christ — Church of the Nativity — Tomb 
of St. Jerome — The Weird Convent of Mar Saba — History — Rules of the Order 
of Monks 395-404 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

The Dead Sea, The Jordan, Jericho, and Bethany. 

Wilderness of Engedi— Tomb of Moses — Beautiful Views — Peculiarities of the 
Dead Sea Explained — Pillars of Salt — The Jordan— Ancient Gilgal — Russian ■ 
Pilgrims — Bethany — Tomb of Lazarus — Tower of David in Jerusalem. 405-417 



xiv Contents. 

CHAPTER L. 

Peculiarities of Modern Palestine. 

Jews — Greek Church— Visit to the Patriarch — Russian Church and Pilgrims — 
Armenians — Copts— Abyssinians— Roman Catholics — Protestants — Places of 
Amusement — Society — Sect of the " German Temple " — Lunatics — The "Amer- 
ican Colony " — Lepers and Leprosy 418-427 

CHAPTER LI. 

Leaving Jerusalem. 

Description of the Caravan — Shafut — Ramallah — El-Bireh— Bethel — Ai — A Slave 
Lost — Robbers' Glen — Caravan of Camels— A Night of Storm and Terror at 
Sinjil 428-432 

CHAPTER LII. 

From Shiloh to Gerizim. 

A Day in a Mohammedan Village — Children and Dogs — A Mohammedan Cemetery 
— Shiloh— Bible Events Connected with the Place -Jacob's Well — Discovery 
Ma r, e by Bishop Barclay — Climbing the " Mount of Blessing " — Formation of 
the Summit — Ruins Found There 433~437 

CHAPTER LIII. 

Sheehem, Samaria, Jenin. 

Events of Sacred History Connected with Nabulus — The Modern Town — Samaritans 
— Samaritan Codex of the Pentateuch — Across the Valley of Samaria — Street 
of Columns — The Plain of Esdraelon — Jenin 438-441 

CHAPTER LIV. 

Jezreel, Nain, and the Cave of the Witch of Endor. 

Figs and Palms — Jezreel — A Bedouin Camp — Dogs in Palestine — Fountain of 
Gideon — The Beautiful Village of Shunem — Caravan Route — Nain — An 
Elderly Appearing Boy — Endor and its Tragic History — Cave of the Witch. 

442-446 

CHAPTER LV. 
Tabor and Nazareth. 

Views Ascending — From the Summit — Ruins — Vesper Music in the Russian Con- 
vent Chapel — Strange Flowerpots — Lost in a Forest — Nazareth — Population — 
Buildings — Mary's Well — Mounts of Precipitation — Reliques of the Clwist. 

449-457 
CHAPTER LVI. 
From Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee by Way of Cana. 

Kefr-Kenna — Mount of Beatitudes — First View of the Sea of Galilee — Tiberias — 
Description of the Sea — History of the Town — Grave of Maimonides — Two 
Protestant Services on Sunday — The Protestant Mission in Tiberias.. 458-466 



Contents. xv 

CHAPTER LVII. 

From the Sea of Galilee to Hermon. 

Four Hours upon Galilee — A Fishing Boat— Ruins of Capernaum — Vividness of 
Bible Narratives — Ain-et-Tin — Road to Banias — Encampment of Bedouins — 
Joseph's Well — Waters of Merom — Dan — Banias — Alleged Attempt at Rob- 
bery — Fountain of the Jordan — Probable Scene of the Transfiguration — Druses 
and Maronites — Ascending Hermon — Traditional Scene of Saul's Conver- 
sion 467-479 

CHAPTER LVII1. 

Damascus. 

Antiquity and Beauty of the City — History of the Great Mosque — Massacre of the 
Christians — The Street that is Called Straight — Improbable Legends — Protes- 
tant Mission — Grave of Henry Thomas Buckle — Salahiyeh 480-490 

CHAPTER LIX. 

Damascus to Beirut. 

Varieties of Weather and Scenery — Through the Lebanon Pass — Unique Lunatic 
Asylum — Origin and Situation of Beirut — Syrian Protestant College — Other 
Christian Missions — Grave of Bishop Kingsley 491-496 

CHAPTER LX. 

Cyprus and Noted Islands of the JE.gea.rx Sea. 

Cyprus — Lanarca — Greek Church of St. Lazarus — Rhodes — The Colossus — Symi — 
Kos, Birthplace of Apelles, Hippocrates, and Simonides — The Rock Island, 
Patmos — Classic Interest of Samos — Scio 497-503 

CHAPTER LXI. 

Smyrna and Ephesus. 

Beauty of Smyrna — Figs, Drugs, and Rugs — Cosmopolitan Population — Languages 
— Wandering Tribes — Religions — Tomb of Polycarp — Importance of Ephesus 
— Ruins of the Stadium, Odeon, and Great Theater — Temple of Diana — In- 
cidents in Paul's Life Connected with Ephesus — Legend of the Seven Sleep- 
ers 5°4-5 I 4 

CHAPTER LXII. 

Athens. 

The Piraeus — Tomb of Themistocles — Modern History — The Olympieum and 
Stadium — Theater of Dionysus — Odeum — Propylasa — Parthenon — View from . 
the Acropolis — Mars' Hill — Hill of the Pnyx — Institutions of Athens — Mount 
Lykabettos 515-523 



xvi Contents. 

CHAPTER LXIII. 

Corinth. 

En route — Situation and Importance — History — The Modern Town — Ruins at Old 
Corinth — Kraneion, the Home of Diogenes — Prospect from Aero-Corinth — 
Characteristics of the Greek People 524-530 

CHAPTER LXIV. 

Constantinople. 

Salonica — Mount Athos — The Dardanelles — Beauty of Constantinople Seen from 
the Sea of Marmora — The Golden Horn — Constantinople Made up of Three 
Dissimilar Cities — Disenchantment — Dr. Long — The Seraglio — Imperial Gate 
—Santa Sophia 53^-543 

CHAPTER LXV. 

Constantinople.— (Continued.) 

The Sultan's Forty-seventh Birthday — The Floating Bridge — Along the Shore of 
the Bosporus to the Black Sea — Ships and Boats — The Armenians — Head of 
the Greek Church — Support of Mosques — Muezzin — Philanthropies of the 
Mosque of Suliman — Spinning Dervishes — Robert College 544-555 

CHAPTER LXVI. 

Constantinople. — (Concluded.) 

Turkish Burying Grounds of Scutari — English Cemetery and Florence Nightingale's 
Hospital — American Bible House — Portraits of the Sultans — Rise and Fall of 
the Janizaries — The Turk — Column of the Three Serpents — Fountains — Cen- 
sorship of the Press — A Translator Perforce — The Sultan and Laborer. 

556-566 

CHAPTER LXVI1. 

Flight through Eastern Roumelia, Bulgaria, Servia, Hungary, and 
Vienna, to Paris and New York. 

Adrianople — Philippopolis — Government of Eastern Roumelia — Convention of 
Protestant Mission Workers — Sofia — Bulgarian Church — Picturesque Costumes 
— Buda-Pesth — The National Museum — Vienna — Emperor Franz Josef — 
Paris Exposition 567-573 

INDEX 575 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Dahabeah on the Nile Frontispiece 

Page 

Characteristic View of Lourdes 5 

High Altar in the Cathedral of Burgos 15 

Exterior View of the Cross of Cathedral of Burgos 17 

La Plaza Major 21 

Facsimile of the Sandal of the Holy Virgin 27 

Street of St. Thomas in Toledo 30 

The Escorial 31 

Cathedral of Toledo 37 

Vista of Interior of Cathedral of Cordova 41 

Cathedral of Seville 47 

Temple of the East of the Court of Lions 53 

Court of the Myrtles 56 

Granada and the Alhambra 59 

Gypsy Quarters in Granada. 61 

Preliminary Skirmishes in a Bullfight 75 

Tangier 83 

Moorish Village 87 

Snake Charmer oc 

Moors on a Journey 95 

Gibraltar 101 

Defenses of Gibraltar 113 

Scene in Oran 117 

Moorish Woman in Street Costume 123 

Kabyle Family on a Journey 131 

Cathedral of Milan 147 

Interior of Cathedral 151 

Monument of Leonardo da Vinci 155 

Regatta on Grand Canal T50 

Bridge of Sighs t6 3 

Duomo of Florence 168 

Gate of St. Paul 175 

Roman Forum 179 

Murillo's Sacred Family 183 

Raphael's Sacred Family 185 

Vesuvius and Pompeii 194 

Entrance to Pyramid 223 

The Sphinx 233 



xviii List of Illustrations. 

Page 

Step Pyramid of Sakkara 245 

Tombs of Beni-Hassan 253 

Cemetery at Asyoot " 259 

Cleopatra — Temple of Denderah 269 

Shadoof 271 

Temple of Karnak 281 

View of Temple of Rameses II 285 

Carvings on the Rameseum 289 

Statues of Memnon 295 

Island of Phila; 307 

Nubians 313 

Howling Dervish 327 

Jaffa (Joppa) 339 

Mizpah 351 

Jaffa Gate 353 

Valley of Hinnom 359 

The Brook Kidron 363 

Mount of Olives 367 

View of Jerusalem from Mount of Olives 371 

The Golden Gate 375 

Mosque of Omar 379 

Wailing Place of the Jews 383 

Chapel of the Scourging 387 

Church of the Holy Sepulcher 391 

Interior of the Holy Sepulcher 393 

Convent of Mar Saba 401 

The Dead Sea 407 

The Jordan 411 

Bethany 415 

Tower of David - 423 

Mount Tabor 447 

Nazareth 452 

Cana 459 

Tiberias, Sea of Galilee 463 

Capernaum 469 

Mount Hermon 477 

Damascus from Cemetery 481 

Court of the Great Mo=que 485 

Beirut 493 

Isle of Patmos 501 

Athens 517 

Ruins of Temple at Aero-Corinth 525 

Constantinople and the Golden Horn 533 

Mosque of Santa Sophia 541 

Bosporus and Castle of Asia 545 

Dervishes 551 

Buda-Pesth 569 



Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER I. 
From New York to the Frontier of Spain. 

To London — In Paris — Anniversary of the Coup d'etat — Glimpse of Bor- 
deaux — The Grotto of Lourdes — Pau and the Pyrenees — Bayonne and 
Biarritz. 

Accompanied by a member of the senior class in Amherst 
College, whom my proposed outline of travel had allured 
from his studies at the expense of delaying his graduation, at 
6:30 on Wednesday morning, November 21, 1888, I sailed for 
Liverpool, arriving on the seventh day. I contrast that flight 
with my first voyage to the same port early in 1863, which was 
fourteen days in length, and advertised in the English papers 
as a remarkably quick passage. 

Five hours after our arrival in Liverpool we were in Lon- 
don, which was enveloped in a dense fog during the forty- 
eight hours of our stay. The business which called us there 
having been transacted, we hastened to Paris by way of Folke- 
stone and Boulogne. How charming Kent looked as we rode 
through ! The trees not yet denuded of leaves, the farmers 
plowing, the sheep and cattle on the green hillsides made a true 
English pastoral scene. 

The British Channel, generally vicious, was smooth as "a 
painted ocean." The walk about Paris on Saturday evening 
showed the same smiling, gossiping, pleasure loving, flip- 
pant city as of yore. Sunday was bright, clear, and the air 
crisp as a New England October day, yet it was a time of 
apprehension to the citizens, the thirty-seventh anniversary 
of the coup d'etat. A procession took place under the man- 
agement of the radical municipal council of Paris, ostensible 
2 



2 Travels in Three Continents. 

to strew flowers on the tomb of Alphonse Baudin, a deputy who 
was shot down upon the barricades on the day when Louis 
Napoleon transformed the Republic into an Empire. 

The procession, which was more than two miles in length, 
occupied two hours in passing a given point, and a chain of 
police kept back the crowds estimated at a half million, dis- 
tributed along the route. Those who were marching did so, 
for the most part, in absolute silence. There were no arms; 
there was no instrumental music, though the Marseillaise hymn 
was frequently sung with spirit. Occasionally there was rail- 
lery between the crowds and those in the parade, and cries 
were heard of "Vive Boulanger J" and the counter cries of 
li A bas Boulanger /" 

None of those terrible men with blue blouses, nor of the 
"unwashed" sans ulottes, who have figured in mobs, took 
part in this procession. The only hostile demonstrations 
were incited by the raising of a socialistic red flag. For a 
moment the uproar was tremendous, the cries incoherent 
and furious, the attitudes menacing; men, women, and chil- 
dren fled like sheep; but the police seized the flag and an ob- 
noxious placard, and the tumult subsided. 

In the town where I was reared lived a retired sea cap- 
tain who told me of some of his adventures at Bordeaux, 
and from then until I visited it the name has had a witching 
interest for me. I found a city with a quarter of a million 
of population, connected by water with both the Mediter- 
ranean and the Atlantic; its streets adorned with noble build- 
ings; its commerce second in volume in France, sustaining 
the closest commercial relations to the United States, and 
having a romantic history. 

Its wines have made it famous. A writer divides them 
into five classes as to quality. Half of the best goes to 
England; Paris takes a second, third, and fourth rate, witl? 
a small amount of the best; Russia, considerable of the best; 
Holland, the second and third; and the United States, the 
third, fourth, and fifth, with a limited quantity of the best. 

When Benjamin Franklin went from the United States to 
represent the Colonies struggling for freedom, the sailing 



From New York to the Frontier of Spain. 3 

important events in the history of this country, for the 
powerful intervention of France in its behalf depended much 
upon the influence of Franklin. One of the striking spec- 
tacles in Bordeaux is the miles upon miles of shipping, dis- 
playing every flag in the civilized world. 

From a commercial city to the chief modern seat of alleged 
miraculous powers in western Europe, is indeed a transition, 
but we experienced it after traveling one hundred and sixty- 
seven miles to Lourdes. For fifty miles after leaving Bor- 
deaux one could easily have imagined himself journeying in 
North Carolina, for the eye could see nothing but pines, inter- 
spersed with cottages and cultivated grounds. Such scenery 
is monotonous and desolate on a cloudy day; but when sun- 
light illumines earth and sky, and the warm breath of the pines 
finds its way to the face of the traveler, if not diversified, it is 
far from dull. 

Gradually the face of the country became more hilly when, 
surmounting green valleys upon whose sides sheep and cattle 
were grazing, arose suddenly above the horizon the long line 
of the Pyrenees, snow-clad and resplendent in the full flood 
of sunlight, with here and there a fleecy cloud resting upon 
their loftiest peaks. A passenger in our compartment, a med- 
ical professor in the University of Paris, as the wonderful pan- 
orama greeted us, exclaimed: "This is my country! I was 
born in the Hautes-Pyrenees. " 

Lourdes is in the heart of the Pyrenees, surrounded by 
mountains, the highest of which glisten by day like ice 
palaces, are transformed at sunset into burnished pyramids 
of gold, and into huge lamps of silver when the moonlight 
whitens them. From a hundred elevations in and around 
the valley, varying in height from three hundred to three 
thousand feet, views may be had, any one of which, were it 
not for the wealth of splendor lavished upon the whole region 
of the Pyrenees, would make the place attractive to lovers of 
the beautiful, and a magnet even to those who worship the 
sublime. From some of these heights I beheld landscapes 
whose aspect could be so changed as to challenge recognition 
by a difference of not more than fifty yards in the point of 
view. We saw remains of walls built by the Romans, and 



4 Travels in Three Continents. 

visited a ruined castle which withstood a protracted seige in 
the time of Charlemagne. 

Till about thirty years ago Lourdes had scarcely been heard 
of; but in the year 1858, eighteen times between February 
and July, the Holy Virgin, it is alleged, appeared in a grotto 
at the foot of a rock, to a little peasant girl by the name of 
Bernadette Soubirous. The child was twelve years old, and 
her business that of feeding hogs. The substance of what it 
is claimed was said to her is: "I do not promise to make you 
happy in this world, but in the other. I desire that many people 
shall come here. You shall pray for sinners. You shall kiss 
the ground for sinners. Penitence! Penitence! Penitence! 
Go, tell the priests that a chapel must be built here. I de- 
sire that pilgrims may come here in procession. Go and drink 
of the fountain, and bathe there. You shall eat of the grass 
which is near it. I am the Immaculate Conception." 

No one except Bernadette could see the vision, but one 
hundred and fifty thousand visited the grotto during the six 
months after the first of the visions. When subsequent 
trances occurred, multitudes of these were present watching 
the child, whose face, when' she said the Virgin appeared, 
"seemed to be glorified by a holy light and beauty entirely 
unnoticeable at other times, and which continued till the 
vision fled." To prove her identity, the Virgin caused a 
spring of water to burst from the earth. It is certain that a 
spring, previously unnoticed, exists. Cures followed the drink- 
ing of the water and bathing in it, and such crowds nocked 
to the place that the authorities, not believing in the reality 
of the visions or of the cures, forbade persons to approach the 
grotto, and would not allow votive offerings placed in the 
church. But the people continued to come, the bishop of the 
diocese of Tarbes encouraging them. 

Various medical men and other prominent citizens certified 
to the genuineness of the miracle. Finally Pope Pius IX 
was persuaded to sanction the opinions of the bishop. Rev- 
enues flowed to the church, the town grew rapidly, hotels and 
pensions were called for to accommodate the pilgrims, thirty 
or forty thousand sometimes arriving in one day. A hand- 
some church and many other buildings have been constructed, 




"';■" '--' 



From New York to the Frontier of Spain. 7 

a square laid out, an image erected representing the Virgin 
as she appeared to the girl, and roads cut through the hills 
and rocks. We found the church filled with offerings from 
those helped or cured, or whose friends had been benefited. 
The grotto, which was formerly called the Grotte de Massa- 
vielle, is known as the Grotte de la Vierge (the Virgin). 

Kneeling before the image of the Virgin were many pilgrims 
drinking the water, bottling and carrying it away, and some, 
both men and women, with outstretched arms, praying with 
intense earnestness. The town contains the ordinary propor- 
tion of cripples, lunatics, sick children, and more than the 
average number of persistent beggars. 

As we were dining in the hotel a nun with attractive man- 
ners advanced to the table and inquired if we spoke English. 
As I was responding in the affirmative she gave us to under- 
stand that she could not speak a word of English, and began 
by signs to beseech us for money to assist in building a 
hospital to take care of poor pilgrims, aged and abandoned, 
and the sick who were brought there to drink and wash 
themselves in the miraculous fountains. She presented a 
paper stating that no matter how little we might bestow our 
names would be inscribed in a special register; that if we 
gave a thousand francs or more our names, with a title of 
" Founder," should be engraved in letters of gold on a marble 
tablet; five hundred francs would give us the title of "Bene- 
factor," a mass would be said once a month in perpetuity, 
and the poor pray every day for us, and especially would the 
Blessed Virgin call down upon us the choicest celestial bless- 
ings, and God would give it back to us a hundredfold. 

We drank of the water at the fountain, but were not a whit 
the better nor any the worse. It was pure and good, and we 
brought away a bottle of it. 

Only nine miles from Lourdes is Betharram. Its church 
stands at the foot of a hill, and upon the slope are thirty- 
two praying places, erected of granite, and from the bottom 
to the top of the long declivity thirty years ago crowds of 
pilgrims climbed, many upon their knees, pausing for prayer 
at each place. Numerous cures were reported, but now 
Lourdes nourishes and Bettharam is almost deserted. 



8 Travels in Three Continents. 

It is so all over Europe under Greek, Roman, Armenian, 
and Mohammedan forms. The fame of supernatural cures 
arises, has its brief day, and a new locality or "Home " takes 
its turn. Similar traditions, connecting alleged supernatural 
healings with places, living persons, signs, and relics, have a 
strong foothold in Protestantism. 

From Lourdes to Pau is but twenty-four miles, and the rail- 
way runs through the valley of the Gave, making a descent of 
several hundred feet before this fashionable resort is reached. 
I cannot conceive a more beautiful region for a pedestrian or 
equestrian tour. The successive villages with their churches, 
the diversified hill scenery, with occasional mountain views, 
the Gave meandering like a silver thread, and occasionally 
descending rapidly in short cataracts, form a charming picture. 

Pau is a watering place, much affected by English and 
Americans. From the river rises sharply the hill on which the 
hotels and the city are situated, being more than two hundred 
and fifty feet in perpendicular height. The square is reached 
by a winding road. From the chief hotels, Gassion and De 
France, the western Pyrenees for a distance of fifty or sixty 
miles are in full view. In the center stand the Pic du Midi 
de Bigorre in the east, and the Pic du Midi d'Ossau in the 
west. This splendid view is by some compared to that from 
the streets of Bern; it does not equal it in grandeur, for the 
Pyrenees are not sufficiently high and are too near to rival 
the view of the Bernese Oberland. 

The castle, celebrated as the birthplace of Henri of Navarre, 
is an interesting link between ancient and modern French 
history. John Calvin, by order of Margaret of Valois, was con- 
fined in one of the towers, five of which remain. Had not 
Calvin been persecuted in France, probably he would not have 
found his way to Geneva, and the larger part of his history 
might not have been written. Bernadotte, King of Sweden, 
was born in Pau, the son of a saddler; he went away as a 
drummer boy. In the castle are shown fine specimens of 
Swedish porphyry which he sent while king. 

Pau is a delightful place in the winter for the well and those 
not much indisposed, but too cold and changeable for confirmed 
invalids. 



From New York to the Frontier of Spain. 9 

The situation and fortifications of Bayonne have always made 
it a place of more than local interest. It is the last important 
town in France, and in the direct route to Spain. The Adour 
and Nive come together at this point, three miles from the 
place where they fall into the Bay of Biscay. They divide the 
town into three parts, and, with the three bridges, form not 
only an excellent harbor, but add to the beauty of the city. 

After visiting the small but symmetrical cathedral, I ex- 
plored the fortifications, having a better opportunity for form- 
ing an idea of their dimensions than I desired, as I lost my way 
about sundown and walked two miles in the wrong direction. 

The bayonet, now used in every land, takes its name from 
Bayonne, owing to a circumstance which occurred in 1523. A 
Basque regiment, in an engagement with the Spaniards, having 
used up their powder, fastened their knives upon the ends of 
their muskets and made a successful charge upon the enemy. 

It was here that Catherine de' Medici and the Duke of Alva 
planned the massacre of St. Bartholomew, but when the order 
was issued by Charles IX, Orthez, the governor of Bayonne, 
refused to execute it. Pau, where he was born, boasts of the 
fact to this day. 

Five miles from Bayonne is Biarritz, which was the perfec- 
tion of beauty on the two days that we were there. It is upon 
the shore of the Bay of Biscay, whose waters were smooth as 
glass, clear as crystal, and bright as sunrise. The view was 
limited on the one side by a long line of mountains, fading 
away in the blue ether in which blended sea and sky enveloped 
them. The guide directed our eyes to a lofty summit, and 
said, " France," and pointing to the mountains beyond it, said, 
" Espagne." Standing among the ruins of an old fort on the 
promontory of Atalye, we saw the bay, bounded on the right 
by Cape St. Martin, and on the left by the coast of Spain. 

Biarritz has become a fashionable resort; the hotels are 
among the finest in France. The Empress Eugenie loved the 
place, having been in the habit of visiting it when a young girl. 
Her imperial husband and herself occupied an unpretending 
brick chateau there, now the only "lion" of the place. I 
should advise every American, who is an enthusiastic lover of 
natural scenery and traveling for pleasure, to visit Biarritz. 



Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER II. 
" I Take my Journey into Spain." 

Entering Spain — Scenes on the Frontier — San Sebastian — Protestant Mis- 
sions — The Infant King — Reminiscences of Lafayette — Burgos — Carthu- 
sian Monastery — Tombs of the Parents of Queen Isabella — The Convent — 
Legends of the Cid — The Cathedral and Castle. 

Spain! ancient, proud, fiery; pitiless in victory, revengeful 
in defeat; romantic, fanatical, converting into an opiate recol- 
lections of past glory ; though swept within a few years by gusts 
of liberal sentiment, still the stronghold of ecclesiastical intol- 
erance, cruelty, and superstition; home of orators, lovers, and 
beautiful women; paradise of priests, in strange contrast with 
a crushed and ignorant peasantry, aristocracy of nobles and 
beggars ! Spain ! offspring of Asia, mother of America, twin 
sister of Africa, gives rise to more problems and sets the fancy 
more free than any other domain in Europe except Russia. 

These questions and fancies had fermented in my brain for 
years. Washington Irving planted the germs and William H. 
Prescott watered them, and when I crossed the frontier Don 
Quixote stepped forward to meet me. Sancho Panza I found 
not, for, as a Spaniard of refinement and intelligence in- 
formed me, the whole people are Don Quixotes, but not more 
than one or two such practical, sensible, and simple-hearted 
creatures can be found as the man who said " Blessings on him 
who invented sleep." 

We entered the country through the Spanish Basque prov- 
inces. After leaving Hendaye, we crossed the Bidassoa which 
separates France and Spain. 

At Irun, the first town in Spain, we were detained two hours 
for the customhouse inspection. Americans, with their pro- 
tective tariff, should be the last to find fault with the examina- 
tions of other countries. 

Our baggage was promptly dispatched, without any disposi- 
tion on the part of the Spanish officer to annoy us. The time was 



"I Take my Journey into Spain." ii 

improved by enjoying the beautiful scenery, and observing 
some lay brothers of a monastery, with their sandals and 
stockingless feet, gray suits, heavy beards, and characteristic 
Spanish costumes. Caballeros slowly pacing the station in 
their highly ornamented cloaks, the officers in uniform, and a 
hundred things besides, showed that we were in a country of 
peculiar customs and speech. 

San Sebastian, the capital of the province of Guipuzcoa, was 
the first important place visited. Established at the Hotel 
de Londres (where they speak little or no English), we called 
upon the Rev. William H. Gulick, who is the son of a missionary 
and born in the Sandwich Islands. Mrs. Gulick is a daughter 
of Dr. Gordon, long the treasurer of the American Board. 

The town is built on an isthmus between two bays and is at 
the foot of Monte Orgullo. The sun being still high, Mr. 
Gulick proposed a visit to the castle. En route thereto we 
saw a circular edifice, twenty-five feet in height and several 
hundred in diameter, large enough to hold three or four 
thousand persons. It was a bull ring, as important in the es- 
timation of the people as the cathedral, the theater, or the 
municipal building. After passing it we began the ascent of 
the mountain upon which stands the castle La Mota. 

We could see the Spanish and French Pyrenees and old forts 
at remote points along the horizon ; villages dimly visible in 
ravines, or sparkling in the sunlight upon the hilltops, while 
before us was the Bay of Biscay. 

As an expositor of the history of the castle and the sieges it 
has sustained, Mr. Gulick was to standard histories what an 
eloquent teacher is to text-books. He conducted us to the 
spot where, in 1813, the British forces, under the Duke of 
Wellington, assaulted the city, which was garrisoned by three 
thousand French veterans, under General Rey. They suc- 
ceeded in taking the main works and town, but the French 
intrenched themselves strongly in the upper citadel, where 
they remained until August 31, when the English soldiers 
climbed over the perpendicular wall and forced a surrender. 
Quebec and Lookout Mountain on this side of the Atlantic 
furnish analogies. A number of the British officers are buried 
on the hillside. 



12 Travels in Three Continents. 

The Bay of Biscay is in the eye of every storm, and the 
waves as they beat against the rocks rise to a great height. A 
remarkable phenomenon frequently occurs whereby vessels are 
saved from wreck. As they are driven in from the sea, just 
when their condition seems hopeless, the amount of water which 
has been accumulated in the bay by the wind commences, by the 
force of gravity, to roll backward, so that they are caught at a 
point a few miles from shore, beat up and down for days, and 
often escape otherwise inevitable destruction. 

The evening was occupied in a visit to the schools of the 
American Board, where we witnessed the calisthenic exercises 
and met the teachers. Here is a girls' school named the 
"North American College." Forty handsomer, healthier, 
more intelligent girls of from ten to sixteen years of age we 
never saw. No direct effort is made in the school to proselyte 
Catholic children from their religion, but all are required to 
participate in the Protestant services. The germs of a full 
college are here. The teachers are accomplished, one a grad- 
uate of Mount Holyoke; another, a young Italian lady, a 
"phenomenal " linguist. 

The next day we drove to Hernani, an ancient and pictur- 
esque Basque town, in which houses yet stand with the coats 
of arms undefaced, which were once inhabited by the nobility 
but are now occupied by the common people. Here may be 
seen the brave and independent Basques, a remnant of the 
aboriginal Iberians, who retain their peculiarities of custom and 
manner, and their language, which they call Euscara. We saw 
the boys play one of the Basque games, in which a long glove 
of peculiar shape and materials is used in place of a bat, 
and the ball is driven forcibly against a wall, being caught 
on the rebound. 

The country residence of the Queen of Spain, who is much 
beloved by the citizens of San Sebastian, is situated on the 
road taken for this drive. The little king was then two years 
old. The queen regent drives without display, but the king 
appears in state, with outriders and all the pageantry of royal 
dignity. San Sebastian is now the most fashionable bathing 
resort in Spain, much frequented by aristocratic " Madrid- 
lenians," whose costly residences adorn the vicinity. 



"I Take my Journey into Spain." 13 

From Hernani we drove to Pasajes, the most curious rock- 
locked harbor on the coast of Europe. On entering from the 
sea at high water, the harbor appears more like a lake than 
a part of the bay. The rocks, barren of earth and grass, give 
to some extent the effect of art. In this harbor entire fleets 
have been sheltered. At present it is occupied chiefly by fish- 
ermen. The peasants were making hempen shoes, and 
women were congregated about an old, red-faced dame, en- 
gaged in dissecting the body of that universal friend and fol- 
lower of mankind — the hog, whose life is crowned by "death 
for his country." 

Here Lafayette embarked for America to give his name, 
fame, fortune, and personal services to the country and to 
Washington, who said: "It was a noble deed in a noble cause, 
and a star of hope in the darkest hour. " 

The journey of half a day from the frontier of Spain to Bur- 
gos, the ancient capital of Castile and Leon, revealed a pano- 
rama of wild mountain scenery and a corresponding triumph 
of engineering. The road ascends three thousand feet. A 
hundred mountains were to be tunneled, climbed, or circled. 
Five, seven, nine, and, in one instance, fourteen tunnels were 
passed between two stations. Great granite masses, in sharp 
contrast with brown hills, loftier peaks covered with snow, 
with the sun set or shining as the eye rested upon one or 
another summit, made a scene of splendid confusion. 

Long after dark we reached the dimly lighted station of 
Burgos. Damp was the night; chilling to body and soul the 
gloom; depressing the mephitic vapors. The Spanish guests 
in the hotel were happy; they smoked and drank incessantly, 
and probably smelled nothing but their tobacco and liquors. 
The city is a thousand years old, and "looks every day of it." 
The next day was stormy, but having procured a carriage 
drawn by a pair of powerful mules, we drove two and a half 
miles along the river Arlanzon to the Cartuja de Miraflores, a 
monastery of the Carthusian order, built by Queen Isabella as 
a monument to her parents. As Americans we were quite 
willing to pay a tribute to her ancestry. 

The sepulcher is a noble specimen of tomb sculpture, oc- 
tagonal, with lions at the corners, and on the sides are illustra- 



14 Travels in Three Continents. 

tions from the New Testament. Upon the top, in a recumbent 
posture, are the statues of Don Juan II and his wife, Isabella 
of Portugal. In a recess Alphonso, who died in 1470, aged 
sixteen, and without whose death Isabella never could have 
been queen, is represented kneeling amid sculptured foliage. 

The monks performed service after having, with many apolo- 
gies, explained to an English lady that it was against the rules 
of the order for a woman to be present. We remained, but 
envied the woman Avho was not permitted to stay, for a more 
melancholy piece of droning never fell upon human ears. 

Emerging from this monastery, where fifteen or twenty 
monks occupy accommodations originally provided for two 
hundred, living upon gifts and pay for masses, we drove to 
the convent of Las Huelgas — "the pleasure ground." It is a 
nunnery of the Cistercian order, founded seven hundred years 
ago by Alfonso VIII to expiate his sins and to please his 
queen, Eleanor, a daughter of Henry II, of England. Here 
various kings of Castile were knighted, and many kings and 
queens are buried. To this day the nuns must belong to the 
nobility and bring a dowry. We saw seven during the per- 
formance of the mass. They were in middle life, stout, 
handsome, tastefully dressed, and in the magnificent carved 
stalls, presented a tableau vivaut more beautiful than most of 
the works of art which adorn the picture galleries. The ladies 
who had been forbidden to hear the service by the monks here 
had their revenge, for the nave, chapter house, and roraan- 
esque nuns' cloister are not accessible to men, though women, 
duly introduced, are admitted. 

The bones of the Cid (pronounced Thith by the purists of 
old Castile), Don Rodrigo Ruy Diaz de Bavar, the most 
prominent hero of Spanish history, are shown in the town hall. 
He vanquished the Moors, and was considered the mightiest 
warrior of Christianity. The Moors gave him the name of the 
Cid after he had overthrown five kings. The legends told of 
him are monstrous; among others, that after he died a Jew 
approached his corpse, saying: "No one dared to touch his 
body while he was living, I will see what he can do now;" 
whereupon the dead hand pulled the sword from the scabbard, 
at which the Jew fainted. 




High Altar in the Cathedral of Burgos. 



"I Take my Journey into Spain." 



1 7 



The symmetry, beauty, and impressiveness of the Cathedral 
of Burgos surpass description. Strength and delicacy are so 
united that the charm and fragrance of flowers are blended 













Exterior View of the Cross of Cathedral of Burgos. 

with the massiveness of a giant tree. Within it is three hun- 
dred and fifty feet long; the transept two hundred and fifty in 



1 8 Travels in Three Continents. 

width and one hundred and ninety-five in height. The style 
is Gothic; the side chapels and adjacent rooms are twenty in 
number, some being as large as ordinary churches; the orna- 
mentation is diversified and exquisite; the choir contains one 
hundred and three stalls, carved in walnut; every chapel is 
filled with paintings, sculptures, ornaments. A mere cata- 
logue of the statues, windows, arabesques, arches, sculptured 
tombs of princes and bishops, pilasters, gratings, angels, 
saints, bas-reliefs, niches, and wonderful works of art without 
description would require a chapter. 

We ascended the lofty hill to the castle — an ancient fortifi- 
cation almost in ruins. From the parapets the finest view of 
the cathedral is obtained. Upon the horizon are convents, 
monasteries, and other buildings. The more distant prospect, 
though grand, is desolate. In neither mountain nor hill, valley 
nor plain can a tree be seen, except along the paths to the 
convents. Having entered without permission, we were ad- 
vancing to the highest point of view when a soldier ordered 
us out of the castle. As we were about passing through the 
gateway a tall, stern-looking officer appeared. I bowed and 
said to him, " Americano." He sent a subaltern for his cloak, 
put it on with dignity, and said, "America Nord?" To 
which we responded, " New York." " You-would-see-the- 
castle? " Then with the air of Don Quixote giving an order 
to Sancho Panza, he waved his hand majestically toward the 
interior, and we returned, none daring "to molest us, or make 
us afraid." 



The Spanish Capital. 19 



CHAPTER III. 
The Spanish Capital. 

Location of the Capital — Climate — Puerta del Sol — Royal Palace — Review of 
Troops — Picture Gallery — Visit to the Cortes — Spanish Orators and States- 
men — The Virgin's Sandal — Protestant Missions — Spanish Horsemen. 

Madrid is a city with an independent character, though 
resembling Paris in several features. It was hardly daylight 
on a rainy morning when we arrived. The chill, the darkness, 
and the streets, deserted by all except cabmen and venders of 
milk and vegetables, were gloomy; but a cup of Spanish 
chocolate and a French roll made a great difference in the 
aspect of the city, and while breakfast was preparing the" 
people had begun to swarm like bees from their hives. The 
crack of countless whips, cries of newsboys, hurrying to and 
fro of clerks, mingling with a ceaseless procession of donkeys, 
carts, and coaches, transformed the silent streets into a battle- 
field of daily life. 

A thousand years ago the now treeless plains about Madrid 
were covered with forests. Like the people of the United 
States, the inhabitants improvidently cut them down, to the 
injury of the climate and of the healthfulness of the region. 
The river on which the city is situated is dry except during 
short intervals, and the annual fall of rain is but about ten 
inches. Madrid rests on the roof of several hills, about 
twenty-five hundred feet above the sea level, and was selected 
as the capital because in the very center of Spain. From the 
streets was a magnificent prospect of the Sierra Guadarrama, 
and of the mountains of Toledo; the former were snow-clad 
from their summits two thirds of the way down to the plateau. 

The climate of Madrid is reputed the worst in Europe, and 
I can readily believe it. We experienced clear, cloudy, and 
rainy days, and each was intensely disagreeable. Pneumonias, 
spoken of as pulmonics by the people, are common and ex- 



20 Travels in Three Continents. 

Most of the houses are high, and are occupied in apartments 
or fiats. Some of the streets and certain squares and prome- 
nades are handsome. The Puerta del Sol, enthusiastically- 
praised by travelers, requires sunlight and a crowd to appear 
at its best. At 4 p. m. on a bright day it is impossible to 
conceive anything more animated; neither London nor New 
York can exhibit such brightness of aspect, such hastening 
but not hurrying crowds, such sparkling conversation, so con- 
stant an interchange of civilities. All the lines of street rail- 
ways meet there ; every business place of importance is in the 
vicinity, the large hotels, and some of the leading public 
buildings. 

The grand square is the Plaza Major. In the center is an 
equestrian statue of Philip III. The mob pulled it down in 
1873, when the red Republic reigned, but it has been replaced. 
Charles I, of England, went down to Madrid to see a bullfight 
"given in his honor by Philip III, and it took place in this 
square; but while such displays may only make it contempt- 
ible, the autos-da-fe celebrated there render it infamous. 

El Prado at fashionable hours enables its visitors to see the 
largest number. Spaniards always seem to be the gayest of 
European peoples on such occasions. 

The royal palace is a truly royal residence, but stands in 
such an exposed place that in winter the sentinels are often 
nearly frozen. We paid particular attention to the royal 
chapel, a splendid room, wonderfully decorated, and contain- 
ing a valuable collection of ecclesiastical objects. In the 
library are many historical manuscripts and a prayer book said 
to have belonged to Ferdinand and Isabella. 

At the window of the Hall of Ambassadors we saw the little 
king, a happy-looking child. Whether the monarchy will fall 
before he comes of age and ascends the throne; whether he 
will ascend it and be dethroned as was his grandmother, the 
still living ex-queen Isabella; whether he will be assassinated, 
or have a "long and peaceful reign," the wisest statesman can 
forecast no more clearly than this boy. 

As we were leaving the palace the review of the regiment 
which was that day to be stationed there took place. The 
average height of the soldiers was apparently not more than 




*=S^jg 



The Spanish Capital. 23 

five feet seven inches; the officers were taller; the uniform was 
new and gay; the bearing graceful and erect, though they did 
not keep step with the accuracy which we have seen in other 
lands. The music to which they marched was peculiarly 
melodious and rhythmical. 

The royal picture gallery, the Museo, is the one institution 
of Madrid whose contents successfully challenge competition. 
Among the Italian masters, Correggio, Bassanno, Titian, and 
Raphael are represented; Titian by twenty of his works, and 
Raphael by a considerable number. The Dutch, French, 
and German, and also the Flemish schools are illustrated by 
their best names. We recognized the familiar work of Philip 
Wouverman, in all of whose paintings the white horse appears. 
In St. Petersburg I saw two of his pictures, considered as curi- 
osities because without that symbolic animal. But it is in the 
Spanish school that this collection, containing many of the 
masterpieces of Murillo, Velasquez, and Alonzo Cano, sur- 
passes the other galleries of Europe. 

We spent a considerable portion of a day there, and of the 
Spanish pictures those that left the deepest impression upon 
my eye and memory are: "An auto-da-fe, celebrated in the 
Plaza Major of Madrid, June 30, 1680." The king, with his 
wife and mother, looks from a balcony; victims are led before 
him to hear their sentences; a friar is preaching to those to 
be burned, and the grandees of Spain are spectators; in the 
foreground are the asses on which the doomed are taken to 
the place of execution. The other is the figure of ^Esop, which 
some say "looks more like a shirtless cobbler than a philos- 
opher;" a superficial remark, for some shirtless cobblers have 
been philosophers, notably Samuel Drew, the metaphysician. 
Cobblers in all ages have furnished original and learned men, 
noted as fine conversers as well as clear thinkers, and they 
have often been concerned in revolutions. 

On ordinary occasions order in the streets of Madrid is 
noticeably good. The police force is large, well organized, 
and supplemented by various officials who add dignity and 
force to the public exhibition of authority. Drunkenness is 
comparatively rare, and no cases of gross intemperance are 
seen during the day. But the capital is liable to outbreaks 



24 Travels in Three Continents. 

difficult to be suppressed without bloodshed, which the memory 
of recent revolutions should make very unpopular. 

The then recent ministerial crisis, regarded with interest 
throughout the civilized world, was attributed chiefly to the 
violent demonstrations against Senor Canovas on his return to 
Madrid from the south a short time before, the charge being 
made that the Liberal government promoted the manifesta- 
tions to make impossible the return of the Conservatives to 
power, and to impress the queen with the impolicy of exhibit- 
ing sympathy with them. The crisis was announced three 
days before we reached Madrid. All meetings of the Cortes 
were suspended. It seemed improbable that I should have 
the opportunity of looking upon a body famed throughout the 
world for Ciceronian eloquence and outbursts of personal and 
partisan feeling. 

E. H. Strobel, Esq., Charge d'Affaires, and then acting 
minister of the United States, courteously gave me the use 
of the only seat at his disposal in the Tribune Diploma- 
tique, and promised to keep me advised of the time when the 
crisis should be resolved, and a new ministry appointed. 

In Spain a ministerial crisis is not brought about merely by 
the defeat of the government in the House of Deputies or 
Commons, but occurs when- any considerable number of the 
ministry resign, or on account of public disapprobation, per- 
sonal incompatibility, or for other reasons, it is necessary to 
make serious changes. At an early hour on Tuesday morning 
information came that at midnight a new ministry had been 
formed. This meant that at the regular hour that afternoon 
the Cortes would reassemble. 

Theoretically, the government of Spain is a limited mon- 
archy. The legislative power is in the sovereign and the 
Cortes, which consists of a Senate and a House of Represent- 
atives. The Senado meets in an edifice unworthy of its 
dignity. The Congresso de los Disputandas (House of Com- 
mons, Deputies, or Representatives) convenes in a building 
which dates from 1842, and was eight years in construction. 
It is handsomely furnished and adorned with fine pictures by 
noted artists. We had passed it on several occasions, and 
spent some time in studying the bronze statue of Miguel de 



The Spanish Capital. 25 

Cervantes. The greatest writer of Spain, and one of the 
greatest of all lands, wears -the old Spanish costume, "and 
hides under his cloak the arm mutilated at Lepanto, which he 
never did in life, it being the pride of his existence." The 
adventures of Don Quixote are displayed in relief upon the 
pedestal. 

At three o'clock I took the seat specified in my credentials. 
By my side sat the Russian minister, a son of Prince Gort- 
chakof, ministers from Portugal and Germany, and a repre- 
sentative of the United States of Colombia. Every seat of 
the Tribuna Publica was filled, and hundreds were standing. 
The Tribuna Reservada was crowded. The seats of the 
deputies were empty. After we had sat for about forty 
minutes, officers in uniform entered, took places upon the 
platform, and a hush of expectancy fell upon the assembly. 
Marcos, President of the Chamber of Deputies, a distinguished 
man, of florid face, sandy whiskers, and short and sturdy in 
figure, took the chair. The ministers entered and seated 
themselves upon the bench named El banco azul, covered with 
blue silk. 

The deputies then filled the building, and the floor was in- 
stantly crowded by senators, ex-ministers, and deputies, and 
others admitted to the privileges of the House. Several of 
the ministers were of imposing appearance, clad in brilliant 
military uniform. Three only of eight or nine were attired as 
civilians. The deputies were elegantly dressed; many smoked 
incessantly and held canes. Senator Moret, estimated inferior 
only to Castelar as an orator, and distinguished as a man of 
letters and a diplomat, had been superseded. Several of the 
ministry had been changed from one department to another, 
and others, new in the government, introduced. 

A long address from Senor Sagasta, the prime minister, 
opened the business. I looked with interest upon him, re- 
membering when he was condemned to death, and compelled 
to flee to England, whence he returned after the Revolution to 
assume the position of Minister of the Interior. He set forth 
the causes of the crisis, and congratulated the House on the 
formation of a ministry. As a speaker, he was plain, forcible, 
epigrammatic, courteous. Don Francisco Silvela, second in 



26 Travels in Thrke Continents. 

position and repute as an orator among the Conservatives, re- 
plied. His style was rhythmical, highly rhetorical, occasion- 
ally epigrammatic. He essayed to show that the government 
was responsible for, or at least indifferent to, the outrages 
perpetrated upon himself and Senor Canovas in the streets of 
Madrid a few weeks previously. Sagasta answered at length, 
minifying the disturbance, and declaring that the government 
had no intimation of it, and did its best to suppress it; he play- 
fully insinuated that the Conservatives must not be too sensi- 
tive ; they had had much approbation elsewhere, and should 
bear rebuffs more patiently. While he was speaking Canovas 
rose and said: "I will take the word." He is an orator of the 
highest grade, erect, graceful, self-poised, and roused the 
House to shouts of applause and murmurs of disapprobation. 
Castelar showed marked interest, but did not speak. Bald- 
headed, good-humored, he belongs to the class of men who do 
not exhibit in repose the elements of greatness. It was mid- 
night when the session closed. 

In one of the most popular chapels in Madrid, I purchased 
of a Roman Catholic priest the exact measurement of the 
Virgin's sandal, a facsimile of which is herewith printed. 

In the center, in Spanish, is the statement that the original 
is preserved in a monastery in Spain, and an account of the 
benefits to be derived from the measurement. Of this state- 
ment a literal translation is herewith given: 

"Long live the holiest Mary, mother of God. This is the 
true measure of the sandal of the holiest Virgin, which is pre- 
served with great veneration in a convent of Spain. The 
Pope John XXII granted three hundred years of indulgence 
to all who kiss three times this measure and pray three Ave 
Marias. 

"This indulgence confirmed Clemens VIII, in the year 1603, 
and it can be gained as often as you wish for the blessed 
works of the Purgatory and for the greater glory of the Queen 
of the Angels. 

"It is permitted to take from this measure others, and all 
shall have the same indulgences. 

" Mary, Mother of Grace, pray for us." 

"It is sold in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Solitude, 



VIVA 



mp 



WMLUSMSM 

HAStRE BE BIOS. 

I3sta es vertladera medi 
da de la sandalla de Ii 



& 



csonserva 



^ vciieraeiou ces use fiffo« 
iiasterlo de Cspaua. 



\§§b\ El Papa Juan XXil concedio 
ma irflScienlos a&os de indulgen- & 
^tflciafc a todos, besando tres ve- 

y rezando j|ipi 



ces esta medida , 
tres Ave Marias 

Dicha indulgeicia conflrmd \M 
ClementeVIH en el ano 1603, 
^ y se pifede ganarcuantas veces 
fM§ se quiera por las benditas almas 
jM del Purgatorio, y para mayor glo- 
W ria de la HeiDa de los Angeles. 

'Mi Se permits sacac de esta. rnedida 
otrcs, y' todas tendon, las mismas in-' 
||| dulgencias.. 









28 Travels in Three Continents. 

Pigeon Street, for her worship. Madrid, 1883. Published by 
Aguado; Pontejos, 8." 

Desiring to see where the few Protestants in Madrid wor- 
shiped, we went one Sabbath morning to the mission of the 
United Presbyterian Church, over which the Rev. John 
Jameson, of Scotland, has presided for nearly twenty years. 
Presbyterianism finds it expedient to adopt in Spain quite an 
extended liturgy, but its traditional "long prayer " was not 
omitted. The congregation numbered one hundred and 
seventy-five. The choir was composed of fifty children, who 
furnished a volume of melody almost sufficient to drown the 
organ, but did not prevent us from hearing the peculiar pen- 
etrating voice of an assistant who kept the children in concert 
to an unusual degree. 

After the opening services this assistant, Don Cipriano Tor- 
nos, ascended the pulpit and preached. He had been a Cath- 
olic priest of such distinction as to rise to the position of 
preacher at the Spanish court; was hardly excelled in popu- 
larity by any priest in Madrid; but fifteen years before, with 
no charge against him and with every desired preferment within 
reach, he left the Roman Church, affiliated with the Presby- 
terian, and ever since has faithfully performed his duty as as- 
sistant minister. Like Luther, he married; and his Roman 
Catholic opponents have not been slow to allege the purpose 
to do so as the reason of his withdrawal. 

There is in Madrid a Lutheran minister, the Rev. Fritz 
Fliedner, the son of the founder of the now renowned " Kaisers- 
werth." He works upon a " providential " plan, starting in- 
stitutions, schools, orphanages, homes for governesses, incipient 
hospitals and missions, and conducting them undenomination- 
ally. Two or three committees in Germany, and some English 
congregations, raise funds for him, and from various parts of 
the world money is sent. He publishes books and tracts in 
Spanish, conducts a service in that language, and preaches to 
a small congregation of Germans. I visited his schools in 
Madrid and elsewhere; they are numerously attended, and he 
contrives to make the parents of the children, and the friends 
of orphans wherever they have any, pay something toward their 
education. 



The Spanish Capital. 29 

The Wesleyans have a mission, but, owing to a feud and se- 
cession, at was not prosperous. 

Madrid has not so many centers of tragic interest as Paris, 
but we saw a church on whose steps a bishop two or three 
years before was killed by a priest, said to be insane, and the 
corner of the street where General Prim was assassinated, De- 
cember 27, 1870. The holes in the wall made by the discharge 
of the gun may still be seen. The street where Cervantes lived 
is named for him, and the house, supposed to be the one occu- 
pied by him, has his profile over the door. 

The Spaniards are magnificent horsemen, and a greater num- 
ber of elegant equipages, accomplished riders, and spirited an- 
imals, the Route en Roi in London and the Bois du Boulogne 
in Paris seldom exhibit. The few sunny days during our 
sojourn brought the whole population out of doors. 

Madrid wears the aspect of a prosperous city. Its dullness 
is gone, and, with the restoration of trees in the suburbs now 
going forward on a large scale, even its climate is improving, 
so that it may yet vindicate the wisdom of its arbitrary selec- 
tion as the site of the capital. 



3° 



Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER IV. 
The Escorial, Toledo, and Cordova. 

Situation of the Escorial — Character of Philip — Interior of the Escorial — 
Description of Toledo — Its Cathedral — Picturesque Gates — Ruined Walls 
— Ancient Churches — The Alcazar — Journey to Cordova — Cathedral and 
Great Mosque. 

I have been in many hospitals, barracks, asylums, and 
prisons, but the gloomiest work of man on which my eyes 

ever rested is the 
Escorial. It is 
grand, but it is 
the grandeur of 
darkness, despo- 
tism, and death. 
Philip, " less a 
warrior than a 
monk, and less a 
monk than an in- 
quisitor," built it 
as a tomb for his 
father, himself, 
and his succes- 
sors, and as a 
monument to San 
Lorenzo, on whose 
day, August 10, 
1557, the battle 
of St. Quentin was 
fought and won, 
as Philip believed, 
through his inter- 
cession. While in- 
tended for a burial 
place, it was also 
Street of St. Thomas in Toledo. . a monasterv, an 




The Escorial, Toledo, and Cordova. $3 

asylum, and a palace. For two years he searched for a spot, and 
finally selected as wild and secluded a region as Spain could 
afford. One must pass beyond the arctic circle to witness 
barer, browner, more inhospitable prospects. Upon the lofty 
slope of the Guadarrama Mountains he erected this structure, 
more than one eighth of a mile long, and nearly as wide. It 
is built of granite, and dividing the surface into paths wide 
enough for the step of a man, one could walk thirty-two 
leagues without going over the same ground twice. Though 
the mountains behind it are high and stern, this building is 
not dwarfed by the surroundings. The Spaniards call it the 
eighth wonder of the world. The chapels and altars are filled 
with paintings by the finest artists, and the high altar is com- 
posed of precious marbles and inlaid jasper. The library con- 
tains magnificently bound and illuminated volumes, ranged 
upon the shelves with their edges outward, instead of the 
backs, as is usually the case. The colors of the tapestry rival 
in delicacy, richness, and vividness the richest paintings upon 
canvas. 

The character of the founder — severe, melancholy, and mor- 
bid — is stamped upon every part of the structure, where his 
successors of a different temperament have not given it a more 
human appearance. During the fourteen years that Philip 
lived there he did all in his power to transform himself into a 
monk, and sat with the priests as they sang in the choir, find- 
ing his way through a secret door to a certain corner. The 
room in which he died was so situated as to give him a con- 
stant view of the high altar. 

The first impression is oppressive. The visitor unconsciously 
looks about to see if there is a way of escape, and almost 
fancies that he hears keys turning in rusty locks behind him. 
Monks and beggars flit across the scene and disappear through 
the passages, or are lost in the prodigious expanse of the main 
edifice. But after a while this passes away and the visitor 
becomes cool, then stolid. Only professional guides and 
architects or worshipers are likely to go there twice. 

The Pantheon, underneath the high altar, is indeed a worthy 
sepulcher for kings. From the church, by successive flights 
of polished marble steps, the visitor descends until he finds 



34 Trave'ls in Three Continents. 

himself in an octagonal room, nearly forty feet in diameter 
and but little less in height, formed entirely of marble and 
jasper, and relieved by gilt bronze ornaments. 

The body of Alfonso XII, who died December 2, 1885, 
lay in a side room subjected to the action of a stream of 
water, by which the perishable parts were gradually removed. 
The urn prepared to receive it when this process should have 
been completed, was exhibited. In an apartment called el Pan- 
teon de los Infantes are the bones of the princes and queens of 
Spajn whose sons did 7/0/ reign, except the late Queen Mercedes. 
The marble caskets are beautiful and some of the inscriptions 
touching; but the whole is in unpleasant contrast with the 
general character of the building, and in many instances the 
decorations are gaudy. 

Whenever we spoke to travelers or residents concerning 
cathedrals already visited, the usual reply was, "Wait till you 
reach Toledo." 

The city of Toledo, sixty miles from Madrid, is the residence 
of an archbishop whose jurisdiction includes Madrid, Cordova, 
and seven other bishoprics. To-day its population amounts 
to less than eighteen thousand ; once it had two hundred 
thousand. Goth, Jew, Moor, and Spaniard have lavished 
wealth, art, and labor upon it. As we approached, the city 
towering on an almost perpendicular rock, appeared like a com- 
plete fortification for the defense of the plain and of the river 
Tagus. 

The people of Toledo are proud of their history and of their 
Spanish, said to be the purest now spoken, and honored by 
Alfonso X in a law providing that, in cases of doubt, the 
Toledan definition and pronunciation of words shall prevail. 
The streets are so crooked that there is no way for the stranger 
to avoid being lost except to commit to memory the signs on 
places of business. 

The Alcazar, a beautiful edifice, has been destroyed several 
times; once by the French, and, finally, only two years ago, 
by an accidental fire. Little remains but bare walls, yet they 
are sufficient to show what a noble structure it must have 
been. 

Wherever one wanders a surprise awaits him. Styles of 



The Escorial, Toledo, and Cordova. 35 

various ages and peoples are illustrated in the buildings. The 
Moors have left their impress upon every part. The character 
of the sites makes even ordinary buildings striking as they rise 
like terraces. Interesting anecdotes abound of the different 
epochs in Toledo's long history. A student could spend 
years allowing his own inquiries to guide him, and before ex- 
hausting the subject would become acquainted with the history 
of Europe during the entire Christian era. 

No one can with certainty say when the cathedral was 
founded; the Moors transformed it into a mosque, and when 
they were conquered it was guaranteed to them by Alfonzo VI, 
but the promise was not fulfilled; the structure was burned in 
1226, and a new one erected upon the site, finished in the year 
Columbus discovered America. 

The names of one hundred and forty-nine eminent artists 
are given who for six centuries were employed to decorate it. 
We entered through cloisters, and were conducted slowly 
through the various chapels and to all the best view-points. 
Here there is nothing oppressive; all is chaste and beautiful. 
One might sit a half day content to gaze upon the scene with- 
out the slightest attention to details, losing vision in the lofty 
height or the dark expanse. The chapels are epitomes of 
history and museums of art. There is a unique image in 
silver, three hundred and fifty years old, ten thousand nine 
hundred ounces in weight, and the cross on the pinnacle is made 
of the first gold brought by Columbus to Europe. Street, in 
his Gothic Architecture in Spain, says that this cathedral "is 
not inferior in design to any of the great French cathedrals, 
while it far surpasses them in rich furniture, picturesque 
effect, and artistic objects of every kind." The wonderful 
mosaics, the volume of sound produced by the organ and the 
voices of fifty priests, and the performance in a side chapel of 
an ancient ritual, were among the things that pleased us. 

Spanish cathedrals have a peculiarity which diminishes their 
internal effect. The choir is placed in the center of the edi- 
fice. The acoustics are by this improved, but the perspective 
is divided. 

Our guide through this building we had taken from Madrid, 
a courier employed for the time that we were in its vicinity, 



36 Travels in Three Continents. 

a Hebrew of superior intelligence and a romancer. One of 
the officials ordered me to take off a cap worn to prevent 
taking cold in the chilly building. The courier made a few 
remarks which led not only to his withdrawing the com- 
mand, but treating me with such unusual courtesy and rev- 
erence that I asked the courier what was the meaning of the 
sudden change in manner. " I told him," said he, " that you 
were a bishop of the holy Roman Church, whose health had 
failed, and who on account of important services in mission 
fields had received a dispensation to wear a cap and a beard." 
I had neither suggested nor authorized the fiction, but enjoyed 
its benefits. 

Besides the cathedral, its chief charm, Toledo has other at- 
tractions; the gates, so picturesque, the ruined walls, the 
castle, and the bridges; churches that were formerly mosques, 
and others that were synagogues. One originally a synagogue, 
was erected in the twelfth century, converted into a church, 
then transformed into an asylum for penitent women of pre- 
viously abandoned life, then resumed its place as a church, and 
was so retained until 1 791, when it was used as a barrack; 
next it became a military store, and finally a dancing hall. It 
is now in process of restoration. 

We visited the manufactory of cutlery, and procured speci- 
mens of the famous Toledo blade. The cadets of the Alcazar, 
set free from daily tasks, were lunching, lounging, arguing, and 
joking in the courtyard. 

From Madrid to Cordova is two hundred and seventy-six 
miles. The railway passes through the Campos de la Mancha, 
and within six miles of the place where Cervantes wrote Don 
Quixote, in which may be found an accurate description of those 
cheerless wastes, on which windmills still stand. The prison 
in which the author wrote his work is now a printing office, 
and one of the best Spanish editions of Don Quixote has re- 
cently been printed in that building. 

Cordova was probably of Carthaginian origin, founded about 
206 B. C, and is the site of the first Roman colony in Spain, 
becoming the capital of " Ulterior Spain." During the Roman 
domination many eminent men, among them Seneca and Lucan, 
were born there. It was captured by the Goths in 527, and one 












« 



?. * t « 




J^ 



M 






%m 



Cathedral of Toledo. 



The Escorial, Toledo, and Cordova. 39 

hundred years afterward by the Moors. The Arabian empire, 
which had become the most aggressive in the world, estab- 
lished at Cordova the Western Caliphate, rivaling in splendor, 
learning, and wealth those of Bagdad and Cairo. From 1236, 
when the Catholics regained the city, it declined, until now it 
has little or nothing to exhibit but the remains of the Arabian 
dynasty, consisting chiefly of the bridge, the Moorish towers, 
and the cathedral, formerly a mosque. 

Probably the cathedral gives a better idea of the grandeur 
of the ecclesiastical edifices erected by the Mohammedans than 
any other in Europe. The design is more simple than that of 
the cathedral at Toledo. When the Arabs entered Cordova 
in 701, they converted half the Christian cathedral into a 
mosque. Seventy years later Abd-er-Rahman I. determined to 
build a temple which should compete with the East, and 
bought of the Christians the part of the temple which up to 
that time they had occupied. The new mosque was begun in 
786 on the site of the old Christian church where formerly had 
stood a temple devoted to Janus. The object of the caliph 
was to save the people from the customary pilgrimages to the 
tomb of Mohammed in Mecca. It ranked among the Moham- 
medan mosques as third in sanctity. The entire area is six 
hundred and forty-two feet long, by four hundred and sixty- 
two wide; the walls are from thirty to sixty feet high and six 
feet thick, and the roof is thirty-five feet high. One's 
chief sensation on beholding is astonishment. Twelve hun- 
dred pillars originally supported the roof, each a solid block of 
marble, brought with their capitals from the different countries 
over which the Saracens were then rulers. Here are every 
conceivable hue and kind of stones: pink and white marbles; 
dark brown, black streaked with white, pale yellow jasper; 
blood red, green, and different colors of porphyry. About 
nine hundred and twenty columns remain, the rows appearing 
perfect in whatever direction one looks. 

The pavement of the holy place is of white marble, and the 
shell-shaped roof is of one block. The mosaics surpass any in 
the world. When the mosque was illuminated for great festiv- 
ities, 10,805 lights were used. 

We saw the spot where the constant procession of the faith- 



40 Travels in Three Continents. 

ful, on their knees, had worn away the marble — "worn as 
though the cold pavement were a sod." A few years ago 
Muley Abbas, an uncle of the present Emperor of Morocco, 
went through this mosque, passing seven times around it on 
his knees, sighing and praying, and then wept loudly, sobbing 
like a child, because "all this splendor had been the work of 
his ancestors. They had raised this wonder, and now the de- 
generate Moors could not even read the Arabic inscriptions." 

When the Christians took formal possession they began the 
work of erecting side chapels, and continued it for two 
hundred years. Finally, against the protest of the city cor- 
poration, a bishop built a church in the midst of the mosque. 
Charles V upheld the bishop, but when he visited Cordova in 
1526 he reproved the chapter: " You have built here what you 
or anyone might have built anywhere else; but you have de- 
stroyed what was unique in the world." The mosque is al- 
most as vast as the Escorial ; but it is massive without sever- 
ity, original without monstrosity, elegant in its curves and 
profiles, and instead of making the impression of a huge stone 
quarry, it is obviously a happy combination of gems from 
many sources. 

" What must it have been when its roof was higher and glis- 
tening with gilding and vivid colors, and thousands of gold 
and silver lamps; when its walls were worked like lace, and 
looked like cashmere shawls illuminated from behind?" 

What must Cordova have been when it was the center of 
riches and of the highest civilization of the age, with its uni- 
versity, its population of a million, its three hundred mosques, 
nine hundred baths, and six hundred hotels? 

The Court of Oranges, with its palms, cypresses, and orange 
trees, and its colonnades of marble pillars, is a mixture of 
Spanish and Moorish scenes. An interesting relic is a Roman 
military column found in 1532, which shows the distance 
from that point to Cadiz, one hundred and fourteen miles. At 
the town gate, near the bridge, is an ugly monument in honor 
of Raphael, the tutelar saint, erected one hundred and fifty 
years ago, commemorating the alleged miraculous apparition 
of St. Raphael for the salvation of the city. 



"Proud Seville." 43 



CHAPTER V. 
"Proud Seville." 

General Description of Seville — Tobacco and Porcelain Factories — The Hos- 
pital — Picture Gallery — The Colombina Library — The Cathedral — Tomb 
of the Son of Columbus. 

From cold and gloomy Burgos, bustling, windy, and modern 
Madrid, languishing, diminished, and dilapidated Cordova, to 
sunny Seville, is a delightful transition ; for this is the land of 
orange groves, of grass ever green, of bare heads and bare 
feet, of singing birds, and children playing in the street. The 
rains are frequent and heavy, but not cold. Tables are laden 
with vegetables, and for once heavy meats fill a subordinate 
place. If the inhabitants but knew how to cook their fruits 
and vegetables, this would be a gastronomical paradise. The 
very beggars of Seville have a character of their own. One 
sees in them the airs of decayed aristocracy, the indolence of 
an Asiatic, and the contentment without the surly ferocity of 
the American tramp. Here the bullfighters, guitar players, 
singers, Sabbath-breakers, intriguers, have unrestricted license. 
The sterner aspect of the Spaniards of the north gives place to 
an almost French affability and politeness. 

The Phoenicians brought their commerce and paganism to 
this part of Spain, and gave it a name signifying a plain, and 
the historians trace the name through four or five changes: 
Phoenician, Sephela; Greek, Ispola; Roman, Ispolis; Moor- 
ish, Ishbiliah; and finally, Sevilla. Caesar conquered it 45 
B. C. The Vandals made it a capital, and so the Goths kept it 
till the advent of the Moors, nearly six hundred and fifty years 
ago. When it was surrendered to the Christians, almost the 
whole population, consisting of four hundred thousand Moors, 
Jews, and Arabs, fled. 

The government of Spain has a monopoly of the manufac- 
ture of tobacco, and of modern things the most extraordinary 
and monstrous is the tobacco factory. Hideous, yet fascinat- 



44 Travels in Three Continents. 

ing, is the interior of the building, a tenth of a mile square, in 
which five thousand women and girls manufacture ten thou- 
sand pounds of cigars per day. Every room is filthy, and the 
stenches so pungent that it is a common occurrence for visitors 
to be taken ill and compelled to retire. 

The tales of the beauty of the women are false, and de- 
nounced by most standard books. A few are of more than or- 
dinary comeliness, but even those are of the cigar-box-picture 
type of beauty. The majority are brazen in expression and 
disgusting in conduct. They eat and smoke as they work, 
chatter like magpies, and beg of the visitor. Through the 
building are scattered wretched infants in cradles, or strapped 
to their mothers while they are at work. 

In the porcelain factory we followed from the beginning to 
the end the process of making fine goods. Stripers on the 
cheap quality give place to those who paint little pictures, and 
these, in turn, to real artists, who decorate the fine specimens of 
china. Many women of a much higher grade than those in the 
tobacco factory and of correspondingly better behavior, are 
engaged in this employment. 

The great hospital under the control of the Roman Catholic 
Church is a neat, comfortable, and well-managed institution. 
We visited every department, finding it an honor to its man- 
agers; the floors, bedding, and furniture scrupulously clean, 
and the atmosphere pure. Everything being made of stone 
gives to one unaccustomed to it an impression of severity 
and coldness; but in that climate it is comfortable. The 
sisters were attentively caring for the sick, presenting to visi- 
tors a view of this form of Roman Catholic activity at its best. 
One department had over it a sign, Hombres Dementes; and 
among the pauper lunatics and those of obscure birth we saw 
a scion of one of the wealthiest families in southern Spain, 
whose manners indicated his delusion — pride, the national 
characteristic, exaggerated. 

The squares and streets of Seville are pleasing. The estate 
of the Duke of Montpensier, son of Louis Phillippe, of France, 
is one of the most elaborate private establishments in Spain. 
On the one side is the river, and on the other are the botanical 
gardens and the principal promenade of the city. The duke's 



"Proud Seville." 45 

garden is nearly two miles in circumference, and is largely de- 
voted to oranges. Sometimes the harvest, grown in the center 
of the city, not in the form of a grove, but interspersed with 
all other kinds of subtropical fruits and trees, nets him ten 
thousand dollars annually. Beautiful as his mansion is he 
does not wish to live there, and spends most of his time in 
Paris, for the reason that in that building he has been bereaved 
of five daughters. 

The picture gallery of Seville is small but fine; probably the 
best place in which to study Murillos. Here can be seen the 
large "Conception," and his favorite picture, "St. Thomas 
Giving Alms." The only painting upon wood he ever made is 
here. I viewed more than twenty-five of Murillo's most cele- 
brated works, and in some felt the power of art; others might 
have been substituted by any of ten thousand paintings, and I 
could not have perceived that injustice had been done to the 
collection. Having procured an analytical criticism by a high 
authority, it was a satisfaction to discover that three of those 
which impressed me were highly commended, and a perplexity 
to find that some of those which I had thought of little account 
were classed among his best. One which, if offered to me in a 
store for a few dollars, I would have refused, is estimated as 
worth many thousands. While in the depths of humility after 
this discovery I stumbled upon the writings of another critic 
who considered the picture utterly unworthy of Murillo, and 
of doubtful authenticity! 

Turning from the picture gallery to the Biblioteca Colom- 
bina, we were plunged into the antiquities of our own country; 
for this library was founded by the bequest of Fernando Colon, 
a son of Christopher Columbus. He was a wide traveler, a 
brave soldier, and a scholar; and accompanied his father and 
uncles several times to America. At his death he bequeathed 
his library of twenty thousand volumes to the chapter. "Neg- 
lect and insects " have reduced the books derived from him to 
one half the original number. The titles of several incited 
curiosity to read them. One, published twelve years before 
Columbus discovered America, contains all the information 
possessed by Ptolemy, Aristotle, Pliny, and others, on the form 
of the world. Christopher Columbus copied it all out with his 
4 



46 Travels in Three Continents. 

own hand, and added notes. Most curious is a tract written 
by Columbus to satisfy the Inquisition, in which he undertakes 
to show that his discovery of America is predicted in the Scrip- 
tures! I lingered long in this room. 

Of course we went to Murillo's house, and to the place 
where he died. The street in which he was born now bears 
his name. He was buried under a church, but when the 
building was destroyed by the French under Marshal Soult, 
his bones were scattered. All they can exhibit is a facsimile 
of the slab formerly on his tomb. 

The Cathedral of Seville is classed with those of Burgos and 
Toledo as the finest in Spain, and is the largest church in 
Europe except St. Peter's in Rome. It was resolved by the 
corporation, preliminary to its erection, "to construct a 
church such and so good that it should never have its equal." 
The edifice had met with a calamity a short time before our 
visit. A large portion of the ceiling in the center fell, dama- 
ging the decorations, and destroying some of the best. The air 
was filled with dust and noise of workmen, and much of 
the space was taken up by scaffolding. On entering, the im- 
pression was that of solemn grandeur. With its brilliant win- 
dows; noble choir, placed in the center according to the cus- 
tom in Spain; vast organs, transepts, alabaster shrines, silver 
candlesticks twenty-five feet high, many chapels, each rivaling 
the others in splendor of decorations, and treasures of art, huge 
silver altars, relics of antiquity, lofty nave, and still higher dome 
between the transepts, and the whole Gospel history painted 
upon the high altar in forty-four compartments, it fulfills the 
vast designs and exhibits the munificence of its projectors. 

The tomb of Fernando, son of Columbus, is in this cathe- 
dral. Murillo's celebrated painting of St. Anthony has a 
peculiar history. On the night of November 4, 1874, the kneel- 
ing figure of the saint was cut out of the canvas. The Spanish 
government at once communicated the fact of its loss to the 
civilized world, through its representatives, and the picture 
was discovered in the city of New York, where it had been 
offered to Mr. Schaus for fifty pounds. It was restored to its 
original place with such skill that no indication that it had 
ever been removed can be seen. 




ff 



^ir 




r~Y 



P*%, 



"Proud Seville." 49 

The Alcazar would need a volume to portray its diversified 
beauty. Roman pillars with Gothic capitals, genuine Moorish 
doors, ceilings, and tiles, with roofs of the same character, and 
Arabian suites of rooms; along the garden tanks where kings- 
fished and queens and favorites of kings bathed, hidden foun- 
tains, gardens worthy of Aladdin. In one of these may be 
realized the full conception of the garden so glowingly de- 
scribed in Gibbon and other historians of ancient luxury- 
There were oranges and lemons growing in the open air, and 
we plucked sweet lemons, distinguished from the sour by a 
peculiarity in the leaf as well as by their possessing the sweet- 
ness of the sweetest orange, while preserving the characteris- 
tic lemon flavor. 

Tragedies have stained these marbles with blood. Here 
dwelt Don Pedro the Cruel, who murdered his brother, and 
deserves to be classed with Ivan the Terrible, of Russia, and 
Richard III, of England. If, as Byron says, 

" Fair is proud Seville, 
Let her country boast 
Her strength, her wealth, her site of ancient days," 

it cannot be forgotten that here was established the Inquisi- 
tion. 

Among the men of whose nativity Seville is proud are 
the Roman emperors, Hadrian, Trajan, and Theodosius; 
Murillo, Magellan, and Las Casas the philosopher and friend 
of the Indians. Shortly after the discovery of America it was 
the emporium of the world. From its port went forth Pizarro, 
Columbus (on one or more of his voyages), and Cortes. Now 
its people are indolent and pleasure-loving. Most of its mod- 
ern enterprises are under the control of the English, who 
manage its waterworks, tramways, and porcelain factory. 
The people sing, coquette, chatter, sleep, and vainly felicitate 
themselves on the glory-days past and gone. 



50 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER VI. 
The Alhambra. 

Approaching Granada — Not Disappointed in the Alhambra — Description — 
History — Purpose — Splendor — Iconoclasm of the Christians — Ravages of 
the French under Napoleon — Mystery and Magic of the Alhambra. 

Clouds and mists covered the heights of the Alhambra, as 
we looked forth on the morning after our arrival, which had 
been late the previous evening. 

I have read Irving, De Amicis — whose emotion and imagi- 
nation make him so absorbing and misleading — and many other 
writers on the Alhambra; and gazed upon numberless photo- 
graphs and paintings, but the result has been as though photo- 
graphs of the separate parts of the human body were exhibited 
to an inhabitant of another sphere, as the materials from which 
he must form an estimate of a living human being; for the Al- 
hambra is not one building, but many. In the deepest valley 
or the most gloomy desert on the globe, it would intoxicate 
and enthrall; but its situation increases its fascination im- 
measurably. I doubt if earth contains a grander natural set- 
ting for a more astonishing human creation. 

The approaches to Granada for more than sixty miles are 
increasingly grand. The Sierra Nevada rise to the south- 
east to a height of nearly twelve thousand feet, while other 
ranges are visible in every quarter. The city is built on hills, 
spurs of the Sierra Nevada, at a height of more than two 
thousand feet above the sea level. Beneath is a charming 
valley, continually watered by rains and streams from the 
Sierras, the summits of which are above the snow line. The 
ascent from the bed of the river Darro to the Alhambra is a 
steep climb by coach of nearly half an hour. The prospect is 
enrapturing; the long line of the Sierras, occasionally lost in 
the clouds; the valley, smooth as a prairie, seventy miles in 
circumference, as green in the last weeks of December as New 
England meadows in June, studded with "villas and vil- 



The Alhambra. 51 

lages;" the river, like a thread of silver, winding through it, 
and Granada itself, guarded, as Jerusalem, by the mountains 
that were round about it; with its picturesque white or gray 
stone houses, tile roofs, cathedral, churches, towers, private 
residences of varying heights and forms. 

It is a fashion to be disappointed in visiting the Alhambra, 
and another to write of it in a vein of disparaging criticism. 
That class of writers did us a service; for while they could 
not wholly counteract the influence of dreams that began with 
childhood, and were recollected with pleasure when they had 
begun to fade with the dissipation of pleasing illusions, they 
produced a calmness which estopped the thrill which would 
otherwise have accompanied the first conscious approach to 
the enchanted spot. Whatever may have been the experience 
of others I was not disappointed. The Alhambra, both in 
what it is and in what it requires of the imagination, transcends 
not only the formulated expectations, but the vague, undefin- 
able fancies of the mind. 

The Moors, in everything differing from the Greeks and 
Romans, never cared much for the exterior, made it as plain 
as possible; but the interior revealed, as with a sudden burst 
of sunrise, a profusion and wealth of decoration which would 
alike astonish and captivate. 

From our hotel, built against the wall that surrounds the 
Alhambra, we entered the inclosure through wondrous scen- 
ery; deep ravines on either hand, their sides covered with elm 
trees a hundred feet high (presented by the Duke of Welling- 
ton), growing there for three quarters of a century, inter- 
spersed with cherry trees which almost overtop them. These 
trees are the habitation of countless nightingales, which, in 
their seasons, make the slopes vocal. Here and there streams 
of water, pure and translucent as rock crystal, burst from the 
mountain side. 

Like the Kremlin at Moscow, the Alhambra is an inclosure, 
a half mile long and an eighth of a mile wide, of irregular con- 
fines. The Alhambra, as the word is generally used, occupies 
but a small part of it. The hill is surrounded by walls thirty 
feet high and six feet thick, but as the building is on the hill- 
side, these walls do not shut out the view of it from below nor 



52 Travels in Three Continents. 

obstruct the view from above. It is cut off from the mountain 
by an artificial ravine. 

We entered by the Porch of Justice. Over the doorway 
the name of the founder is inscribed, and this Mohammedan 
prayer: " May the Almighty make this a protecting bulwark 
and write down its erection among the imperishable actions of 
the just." Over the outer arch a hand is sculptured; over the 
inner a key. The legend is that the Moors boasted that this 
gate would never open to the Christians "till the hand took 
the key." The hand never took the key, but the Chris- 
tians entered nevertheless. Then we passed through the 
fountains, baths, the Hall of Ambassadors, and the courts. 
The supports in some of the rooms are concealed, "so that 
the apparent supports, thin pillars and cashmere, perforated 
fabric which seemed fairy work, appeared incapable of sus- 
taining the roof." Divans, alcoves, courts of oranges, gar- 
dens filled with tropical vegetation, in the midst of the 
building, with inscriptions from the Koran everywhere, such 
as, "There is no conqueror but Allah," culminating in the 
Court of Lions, with its one hundred and twenty-eight pillars 
of white marble, eleven feet high, upholding porticoes on 
each side, transformed the Arabian Nights' entertainments 
into reality. 

In one of the private apartments of the Moorish kings, 
splendid in richness and harmony, a poem is copied upon 
the tiles, one stanza of which is thus translated by an Arabic 
scholar: "Look attentively at my elegance and reap the 
benefit of a commentary on decoration." 

Who built the Alhambra, and why? A thousand years be- 
fore Christ the Phoenicians had discovered the resources of 
Spain and founded Cadiz. Seven hundred years later the 
Carthaginians, their descendants, had subjugated a large part 
of the peninsula. Five hundred years subsequently the Van- 
dals, after ravaging France, swept south through the passes of 
the Pyrenees into Spain, where they settled permanently. 
Soon afterward the Visigoths went from Italy by way of 
southern Gaul into Spain, and there began a series of struggles 
with the Vandals and the Romans. 

In the early part of the seventh century arose the most ter- 




Temple adjacent to the Court of Lions. 



The Alhambra. 



55 



rible power that had ever appeared in modern history in 
Asia — Mohammedanism. In less than seventy-five years 
after the birth of Mohammed the Saracens had overrun all the 
lands between Armenia and Khiva, and in less than sixty 
more possessed themselves of North Africa, ravaged Asia 
Minor, and besieged Constantinople. About the beginning of 
the eighth century Spain was invaded, the hordes crossing the 
straits under Taric, and landing at Algeciras, near Gibraltar. 
Roderick, the last King of the Visigoths, intercepted them at 
Xerez de la Fontera in 711. Nine days of battle were termi- 
nated by the death of the Gothic king in single combat with 
Taric, and this gave the Mussulmans the mastery over nearly 
the whole of Spain. An independent Caliphate was established 
at Cordova. The name Alhambra is mentioned for the first time 
after the Moors had been in power in Spain for one hundred 
and fifty years. Its meaning was simply a ''Red Tower." 

The first extraordinary edifice was erected by Ibn-1-ahmar, 
in 1248. He enlarged the former structures and made an ad- 
dition, which he intended should excel in grandeur the palaces 
of Bagdad, Fez, and Damascus. His successors erected new 
buildings, summoning the finest artists from all parts of the 
world, and giving them free access to their treasures. An 
elegant mosque was built in 1300; finally Yusuf I, who had such 
stupendous resources that it was believed that he could trans- 
mute other metals into gold, lavished so much on the interior 
that the popular opinion was that the cost defied calcula- 
tion. 

Thus arose the Alhambra, a fortress palace, in which an 
oriental monarch was to live, intended "to awe the city below 
with the forbidding exterior of power, to keep out heat and 
enemies, foreign and domestic, and to keep in women." 

The whole of Spain had not been subdued by the Moors. 
Various kingdoms were formed; Asturias and Navarre, and 
finally Castile, being among the most powerful. The central 
kingdom associated itself with them, and waged continuous 
war. The kingdom of Aragon was spreading rapidly, and the 
Moors were restricted to Granada. In 1469, when Ferdinand, of 
Aragon, married Isabella, Queen of Castile, the consolidation 
of Spain into one empire began. Granada was conquered, and 



56 



Travels in Three Continents. 



in 1492 the Moors were expelled from the peninsula. Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella resided for a time in the Alhambra, and in 
one of its rooms the queen informed Christopher Columbus 
that she would support him in his enterprise. 



- 




Court of the Myrtles. 

So soon as the Christians obtained control the work of dev- 
astation commenced. When Ferdinand and Isabella departed, 
the monks and soldiers who were left did what they could to 
destroy the Alhambra. They whitewashed the open work, 
coating some of it so thick that a pickax was required to re- 
move it; stole, destroyed, or sold the furniture. Charles V 
determined to erect a palace, tore down a part of the Alham- 
bra, and began a structure which has never been finished. 
From age to age it deteriorated, until finally turned into an 
asylum for debtors and state prisoners. When the French 
took possession in 1810 and 181 2 they used it for barracks, 
destroyed everything they could, and blew up the mosque, 
which was said to have had no rival in the world. 



The Alhambra. 57 

They mined the entire structure, and would have annihilated 
the last vestige of its grandeur if a corporal had not put out 
the fuses. After the conquest it was offered to the Duke of 
Wellington, but he preferred another place, which is still 
owned by his descendants. Not till 1842 did its repair and 
restorations begin, but these have since been carried forward 
with success. 

In examining the registry of visitors we saw signatures of 
the greatest interest. The first in the collection was Washing- 
ton Irving, May 12, 1829, whose room in the Alhambra, look- 
ing into a court of oranges and palms, is now one of the 
"lions." Irving did more to rekindle interest in the Alham- 
bra than any other person. Then followed Caleb dishing, 
February 16, 1830, de los Estados Unidos de America; Caroline 
W. Cushing. Here is a name which subsequently was felt 
around the world — Benjamin Disraeli, July 31, 1830. 

It is impossible for me to describe the Alhambra. Indeed, 
if Mr. Richard Ford, who lived for a year within it, and who 
has written the best general book upon Spain, is to be be- 
lieved, I do not understand it, having visited it but three 
times. He says: "To understand the Alhambra it must be 
visited often and alone; at night, when the moon floats above 
it in the air like its crescent symbol, the tender beam tips the 
filigree arches, a depth is given to the shadows and a misty, 
undefined magnitude to the salons beyond, . . . then, in pro- 
portion to the silence around, does the fancy and imagination 
become alive. The shadows of the cypresses on the walls 
assume the form of the dusky Moor as, dressed in his silken 
robes, he comes to lament over the profanation of the infidel 
and the devourment by the destroyer." 



Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER VII. 
Granada and Malaga. 

The Cartujan Convent — Its Beautiful Church — Cathedral and the Sepul- 
chers and Graves of Ferdinand and Isabella — Gypsies — Malaga — Its Fruit, 
Superb Scenery — Beggars — Visitors — Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve — 
Suburbs. 

Besides the Alhambra there are many things to please 
and instruct in Granada. The Generalife (grounds of the 
architect from whom the Sultan purchased the site more than 
five centuries ago) is noteworthy for views, gleaming streams, 
elevation above the Alhambra — the latter appearing more 
like a fortress from that point than from any other; for carved 
doors, arches, and arabesques; aged and immense cypresses, 
and raised gardens, with flights of Italian steps through which 
fountains play. Above the Generalife stretches a chain of 
hills, over which we took a long stroll, attaining a point nearly 
a thousand feet above the level of Granada. 

The Cartujan convent contains one of the finest pictures by 
Alonzo Cano, on the roll of Spain's greatest artists, and has a 
church inlaid with tortoise shell, ebony, and cedar wood. 

There we were permitted to try some experiments for the 
purpose of ascertaining how much the voices of the priests are 
affected by the echoes produced in the vast expanses of hol- 
low domes, naves, and transepts. Our previous opinion, that 
a voice which would not attract special attention in an ordi- 
nary church of a rectangular form, with stationary seats, will in 
a cathedral be greatly magnified, was fully confirmed; for on 
singing the Doxology in English, a language unknown to the 
custodian, we were almost appalled by the tremendous volume 
of sound. 

In Granada is the cage in which San Juan de Dios was con- 
fined as a lunatic for preaching the necessity of " Foundling 
Hospitals." He died in 1550, and was canonized one hundred 
and fifty years afterward ! 









,<?io^ (k - 




§ 1 



^ 1 







* 






fe 



^ 



4,- .2? 



'- '-.• , 



IMS 



Granada and Malaga. 



61 



The gypsy quarters greatly interest travelers. These, the 
strangest of half-civilized human beings, live in caves. It was 
astonishing to find a suite of rooms excavated in the side of a 
hill, without ventilation, except through a single front door, 
filled with an atmosphere apparently as pure as that of a well- 
ventilated dwelling. There were very few such; most were 




Gypsy Quarters in Granada. 

dens of filth, the habits of the occupants being less cleanly 
than those of wild beasts. Their demands for money were 
vociferous and persistent, and a stranger of timid disposition 
wandering among them might be in danger. 

The Cathedral of Granada is not remarkable in comparison 
with those of Toledo and Seville, but the Capilla Real, which 
contains carved effigies of Ferdinand and Isabella exactly 



62 Travels in Three Continents. 

representing- their faces, forms, and costumes, and the magnifi- 
cent Carrara marble sepulchers, upon which are extended life- 
size figures, and their graves beneath, which have never been 
disturbed, receive merited reverence both from the Spanish 
people and foreigners. Here we saw the box in which were 
kept the jewels hypothecated by Isabella to raise the money to 
equip Columbus. Those jewels lighted the path to a new 
world. 

Our route after leaving Granada was direct to Malaga. As 
we drew near the end of the journey, the tunnels, precipices, 
overhanging cliffs, in the darkness of the night, made the 
stars seem as lanterns waved by mountaineers signaling each 
other. Malaga, on a bay of the Mediterranean, protected by 
these mountains, exhibits almost tropical scenery. It seemed 
like midsummer, yet the people were preparing for Christmas, 
and the market was filled with fowl of every kind, oranges, 
figs, lemons, raisins, quinces, melons, pomegranates, olives, 
tomatoes, eggplants, oysters, and fish, in which soles, red 
mullets, and sardines were conspicuous. For three days, Sun- 
day not excepted, the clamor of hucksters never ceased until 
the small hours, and began again long before daybreak. A 
multitude of hideous beggars could be seen — blind, scrofulous, 
and verminous. If a half dozen hospitals had been burned in 
a night and the patients turned loose, with the inmates of a 
lunatic asylum included, loathsome creatures would hardly 
have been more numerous. Blind asylums appear to be com- 
paratively unknown, though the habits of the people and the 
climate in the southern part tend to increase the number of 
those deprived of sight. At almost every station sightless 
eyes, or sockets without eyes, were turned up, accompanied by 
noisy appeals for relief. 

Malaga has few monuments of antiquity and few public 
buildings of importance ; but its climate, harbor, vessels, 
and its somewhat cosmopolitan population; its relation to 
Mediterranean travel ; its numerous visitors from northern 
Europe who come to escape the rigors of winter; and its 
famous oranges and raisins, make it a pleasant resting place. 

Through the courtesy of Colonel Marston, the American 
consul, we received an invitation to visit the studio of Caba- 



Granada and Malaga. 63 

nerro, one of the first of the younger artists of Spain. A 
superb picture had just been accepted by the government for 
the Senate Chamber, and the sum of ten thousand dollars 
appropriated as his compensation. The painting, which had 
just received the finishing touches, occupied the entire side of 
the large studio, and represented a scene of hundreds of years 
ago, when the King of Spain appeared at the court of the sul- 
tan in Constantinople to offer him his troops. The sultan, 
the commanding officers, and the fierce, swarthy men of Ara- 
gon were depicted with startling vividness. Great local in- 
terest had been aroused by the painter's taking some of his 
models from the faces of living residents of Malaga. 

Everyone recommended us to attend the midnight mass in 
the cathedral on Christmas Eve. The people of Malaga attend 
services on this day in much larger numbers than on Sundays 
and other feast days. It was estimated that more than five 
thousand were in the building. As our party advanced the 
organ and choir pealed forth a volume of sound which made 
the massive walls ring again. Besides the multitude standing, 
a thousand worshipers in front of the high altar were upon 
their knees. These consisted exclusively of women, not a 
man in the vast assembly could be seen kneeling. 

In all parts of the building irreverence was manifested. 
When the Host was elevated the people mechanically crossed 
themselves, but, at the same moment, there began a struggle 
on the part of the women to get nearer. They jabbered at 
each other, pushed and crowded, and fairly fought for places, 
all the while, however, except a few of the more fierce, laugh- 
ing. Men generally were more irreverent in their deportment 
than women. The aspect was that of a show and people in- 
tent upon making the most of it. An epidemic of laughter 
finally spread over the entire assembly, and what should have 
been a solemn scene became a caricature of devotion. As 
the celebrating priest was feeble, the mass was read by three 
priests in unison, whose united voices were not easily heard in 
the remoter parts of the edifice. 

A Catholic citizen, when asked concerning the music, replied 
that it was supposed to be "the very melody sung by the 
angels at the birth of our Lord." It was not, however, stated 



64 Travels in Three Continents. 

that the shepherds who heard the song understood musical 
notation, and that one had a tablet with him and took down 
the notes ! 

In the presence of the entire assembly, during a part of the 
performance, an assistant availed himself of the opportunity 
for a nap, and one of the brothers awoke him. I record this 
merely as a fact, having seen a Protestant minister asleep in 
the pulpit when a bishop was preaching. When the service 
was over the struggle was fearful. The crowd, now a turbu- 
lent mob, pushed and elbowed its way out. 

While in Malaga we called on Senor Vila, Pastor of the 
Spanish Protestant Church, a man of force, intelligence, and 
courage unexampled. For the offense of vindicating his 
work against the aspersions of priests he was heavily fined, 
and condemned to imprisonment for two years, the execution 
of which part of the sentence was indefinitely delayed. 

Among the walks and rides taken in Malaga and its suburbs 
a visit to the sugar cane fields should not be forgotten. Here 
the cane grows in a few places as luxuriantly as in Louisiana, 
and almost as much so as in the West Indies. The children 
are as happy when they, get sticks of sugar cane to suck as 
they are in colder climates on receiving a box of confectionery; 
judging from what we saw it has some decided advantages, for 
a stick two or three feet long will give linked sweetness long 
drawn in and keep the urchins quiet until excess of sweets 
brings on the usual results. 

Driving for an hour up the dry bed of the river we reached 
the estate of the Marquis of Casa Loring. The Spanish Lor- 
ings, a branch of the Massachusetts family of that name, have 
attained great wealth and rank in Spain. Almost all the rail- 
roads were built under the superintendence of the oldest mem- 
ber; a title has been conferred upon him, and his estates at 
Madrid, Malaga, and elsewhere are among the finest. The 
members of the family, having married into ancient Spanish 
families and embraced the Roman Catholic religion, are allied 
with the aristocrats of the kingdom. This estate is noted for 
the beauty and luxuriance of its vegetation. An enraptured 
writer mingles his figures by saying that it and an adjoining 
one of San Jose, the property of Don Tomas Heredia, "Are 



Granada and Malaga. 65 

beautiful oases in the sea of sun-gilt hills surrounding Mal- 
aga." We visited both these estates. The view from the 
Marquis of Loring's place is finer than any prospect from 
the other, and in a small temple of Grecian style, on the 
grounds, are many Roman remains collected from the neigh- 
boring villages. Tablets, containing remarkable specimens 
of Roman municipal law, are exhibited in this museum. 
But the charm of both places is the variety and profusion 
of subtropical and tropical plants, vegetables, and trees, which 
make them horticultural gardens, where one may see the prod- 
ucts of all climates except the coldest. Here were immense fig 
trees, countless orange trees bending under the weight of their 
fruit, interspersed with the paler lemon; date palms reared 
their lofty heads, and in some instances the clusters needing 
support. Magnificent bamboos and palms, whose annual rings 
indicated their age, lined the avenues. The female date palms 
were much more numerous than the male, the former bearing 
all the fruit. Extraordinary specimens of the cactus, with 
groves of the eucalyptus, introduced from Australia to counter- 
act the causes of malaria, are prominent features of the land- 
scape. With apple and pear trees, vines, fountains, artificial 
lakes, streams gurgling from the hills — in fine, here was every- 
thing that nature and art could produce to make basking places 
for weary travelers or indolent loiterers in life's dusty path. 
The hothouse seemed to me a blemish, calling attention to 
the limitations of the otherwise Edenic situation. 

The Heredias are proprietors of the long-established iron 
works, the most important industry of Malaga. The family 
are devoted Catholics. 

We spent Christmas in Malaga, struggling against the trav- 
eler's gloom, which attacks almost everyone absent from 
home and friends, but is most acute on festal days. While all 
were giving and receiving presents, the only attention bestowed 
upon us was by hotel waiters hoping for fees, and beggars 
seeking alms. 



66 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Peculiarities of the Spaniards. 

Aspect of Spanish People — Spectacles in Squares and Streets — Spanish Polite- 
ness — Amusements — Morals — Lotteries — Women — Guarclias Civiles — Reli- 
gion, Catholic and Protestant. 

However long the visit, unless the traveler becomes a resi- 
dent, mastering the language, and associating with the people, 
he must be at a disadvantage when he attempts to describe in- 
dividual character or social condition. Yet foreign residents 
often hold diverse opinions of the same things. The system 
adopted by me in studying the people of a country, is to read 
what travelers and standard authors have written; to observe 
all classes attentively; to converse with all who are accessible; 
to communicate with foreign residents, consuls, merchants, 
students; to ask questions, comparing the answers; and finally 
to submit the conclusions to intelligent natives who under- 
stand English, and to foreigners of different nationalities who 
have long lived in the country. 

The aspect of the people of Spain differs in different parts 
as the inhabitants had a diverse ancestry. The climate of the 
north is cold, scenery stern, conditions of life hard; that of 
the south is mild, its fruits and prospects those of perpetual 
summer, its life in the open air and its costumes picturesque. 
But all classes have intermarried, and removals to common 
centers have increased, until now in the streets of the cities 
every variety that could result from the admixture of the 
original population with the Goths, Moors, Romans, Greeks, 
and Phoenicians appears. 

While two thirds of the people have the Spanish type, one in 
three looks as much like an Englishman or an American as 
the majority of the natives of those countries, having the lighter 
complexion and even the same general expression of counte- 
nance. 

As the Spaniards make greater use of promenades, ride, 



Peculiarities of the Spaniards. 67 

walk, and sit' in public more than any other people, the spec- 
tacles in the squares and streets are always pleasing"; not less 
so is village life where there is more regard for ease and less 
care for mere show. I did not expect to see many instances in 
the capital and larger cities, of the picturesque national dresses, 
and was agreeably surprised. Though many of the upper 
classes wear high hats like Englishmen or Frenchmen, and 
ladies have laid aside veils and mantillas, the cloak without 
the cape is still much used by gentlemen who, for the most 
part, have renounced the gay colors. 

The middle classes, especially persons, somewhat advanced 
in years, wear the cloak and cape, with red, and other bright 
velvet linings. 

Spaniards are very polite; even beggars salute one another 
as though they were grandees. But though the grandiloquent 
style in which they accost one another provokes a smile, the 
manner in which " General," "Colonel," "Squire," "Major," 
"Judge," "Doctor," " Professor, " and degrees of all kinds are 
sought and used, and even inscribed on visiting cards in the 
United States, should prevent us from thinking meanly of 
the Spaniards for a manifestation of a weakness of human 
nature which no form of government or religion has yet been 
able to eradicate or materially diminish. 

We did not find the custom of taking off the hat in entering 
banks, offices, and stores as universal as represented. In many 
places, perhaps under the influence of foreign trade, we were 
embarrassed, not by the excess, but by the lack of such polite- 
ness as is common even in America. Still even in this day it 
is not an easy or brief task to equal Spaniards in greeting, for 
they are never in a hurry. 

Much of this politeness is superficial. The offers made are 
expected to be declined, and a writer in praising Spanish 
courtesy is obliged to say that " Spaniards, although they sel- 
dom bid a foreigner [as guest], will accept his bidding." 

When they address the man by his last name he is Senor, 
as Senor de Garcia; if the Christian name is used Don is em- 
ployed, as Don Ferdinand Garcia. Formerly Don was equiv- 
alent to Sir as used in England, as Sir William Jones; now it 
is applied to everyone, and there is an old proverb that Don 
5 



68 Travels in Three Continents. 

without din (money) does not amount to anything. The 
Spaniards hate abruptness, address each other as Caballero, 
and abound in such phrases as "Please tell me," "Be 
so kind." Those who neglect these things give offense. 
Beggars that swarm everywhere are refused in a manner which 
illustrates the superficial character of many of the phrases in 
use. When they become annoying the Spaniard says, " My 
brother, will you excuse me, for God's sake? " or he tells him 
that God will take care of him, and he may say this while he 
is anathematizing him to his companion. 

Amusements consist largely of music, dancing, and festivals. 

" There ne'er was born a Spanish woman yet, 
But she was born to dance." 

Everyone dances, and the music is chiefly adapted to it. The 
guitar is the most popular instrument. Castanets and tam- 
bourines are used in some parts of the country, and in 
churches on special occasions. In southern Spain one could 
rarely pass out of hearing of the tones of the guitar in the 
evenings. The lower classes could be seen dancing without 
reserve. 

The Spaniards turn everything into an occasion for a holi- 
day, and each holiday into a festival. Every place has its 
saint, processions, and pilgrimages, almost all degenerating 
into picnics. The catalogue for the year of such days is 
almost as appalling as in Russia, interfering with business and 
reducing the legitimate income of the nation, as well as in- 
creasing its expenditures to an almost unsupportable extent. 

The people are the most persistent and excessive smokers. 
Little boys of eight or ten years of age smoke, and in all 
places except the church men were always indulging. They 
pay no regard to the presence of women. Few apartments on 
the trains, even first-class, are reserved for the use of non- 
smokers; but everywhere fumes arise. The Spaniard smokes 
while he is shaving, when he is in the opera, and when in his 
place in the Cortes. Upon health the effect is bad. It is 
very difficult to find Spaniards who do not complain of some 
malady. Dyspepsia and nervous diseases, including spasmodic 
affections, are common. 



Peculiarities of the Spaniards. 69 

The standard of morals is not high. By this it is not in- 
tended to indorse the extravagant imputations upon the women, 
nor to imply that every Spaniard is untruthful, unclean, or dis- 
honest. Spaniards are not especially intemperate in the use 
of alcohol, and drunkenness, though seen, is not frequent. We 
looked for it in places and at times which would certainly have 
revealed much were it general. They eat and drink less than 
any other nation in Europe. But they are devoted to lotteries, 
and next to beggars, the venders of lottery tickets are the 
greatest nuisances encountered. Of this business the govern- 
ment has a monopoly. The report of the United States consul 
at Madrid speaks of the evil effects of the institution, and in 
showing the final results to the government, he says that this 
method of raising money is alike paltry and pernicious. It is 
the working classes who are most injured, for by it their heads 
are filled with ideas of suddenly accumulating riches. 

Bribery is general; most public officials being so dishonest 
that it is a common saying that anything can be done by 
bribery, and nothing in the regular way. Mayors of cities 
grow rich in a year. One, at least, of the most important 
cities is utterly destitute of credit. Spaniards so distrust each 
other that money is not forthcoming for great public works. 
The English manage the waterworks, the street cars, and 
almost everything else. It has been remarked that a distinc- 
tion must be made between the Spaniard in his individual and 
in his collective capacity, and still more in an official one; 
" to him as an individual you may trust your life, fair fame, and 
purse, but in his corporate capacity, either business or official, 
as he trusts nobody, he has been willing to float down the 
turbid stream like the rest." 

In southern Spain women are .spoken of in a manner which 
shows how low the standard of virtue is. Foundling asylums 
are numerous, and, as in Russia, no questions are asked when 
those "conceived in sin and born in iniquity" are presented 
for admission. A Spaniard, not a Protestant, who abominated 
the whole system remarked to me that the proper inscription 
for those buildings is, "Violations of the Seventh Command- 
ment Made Easy." 

The disposition of the average Spaniard is fiery and vindic- 



70 Travels in Three Continents. 

tive. The lung knife is quickly drawn. A courteous request, 
couched in flattering words, "especially a silver key " propor- 
tioned in weight to the social standing of the person to whom 
it is applied, will secure anything within his power to be- 
stow; but it is in vain to attempt either to drive or to hurry 
a Spaniard. Their great word is " manana" "to-morrow, 
to-morrow." 

Violence, robbery, and insecurity of life and property have 
given place to comparative security. Besides the local police 
and ordinary means of preserving order, there is a body of 
men, consisting of twenty thousand foot, and five thousand 
horse guards, called Guardias Civiles, to distinguish them 
from military and naval guards. They are recruited from 
long-service men in the army, and from the military college, 
where are educated for the force the orphan children of such 
guards as have died in the discharge of their duty. They are 
assigned in couples to every town and village, and in small 
barracks along the highroads in larger numbers throughout 
all Spain. The uniform is dark blue, with light yellow belts. 
Two meet every train at every station, and the law requires 
them in patrolling the roads to walk at least twelve paces 
apart, so as not to be surprised simultaneously. The cav- 
alry carry swords, revolvers, and short guns; the foot sol- 
diers Remington rifles with bayonets, and sometimes other 
weapons. The men must be five feet eight inches high, and 
every member of the force is able to read and write. We saw 
hundreds of them, everywhere picturesque and noble figures. 
They have destroyed the organized robbers that made travel 
dangerous, and are in readiness to check the slightest disturb- 
ance. Yet in many places the knife is a too convenient 
weapon. It is not an uncommon thing in Malaga, in street 
fights, for men to draw long, murderous knives, and begin to 
cut each other to pieces. The police, when there is a fight of 
that kind, keep out of the way; for when the Spaniards are 
heated with passion or wine, they are liable to turn upon the 
officers of the law and make an end of them quickly. 

Lack of suitable institutions for paupers accounts for the 
horrible cases which constantly offend the eye. It should be 
remembered that if all such cases detained in institutions in 



'Peculiarities of the Spaniards. 71 

the United States were turned into the streets, our own 
country would present a similar appearance. In the treat- 
ment of lunacy Spain is behind other nations. The number 
of ascertained lunatics is small. While the climate tends 
to develop fierce, warlike, and excitable natures, it also 
produces an indolence which, together with practical philoso- 
phy of postponement, causes speculations, ambitions, political 
passions "to effervesce like champagne and then collapse." 
Many of the inmates of such asylums as exist are criminals, 
who should be punished; and many wandering beggars are 
lunatics who should be placed under restraint. Though still 
behind other countries, the people of Spain are certainly 
improving. 

A Roman priest of high standing wrote that, "owing to 
the national temper of Spain, Catholicism in that country be- 
came the most intolerant and cruel form that Christianity 
has ever assumed." It is certainly at the present time more 
superstitious and severe toward dissenters than in any other 
European country. 

Notwithstanding this, priests as a class are notoriously 
frivolous and profligate. The hardest things we heard said 
of them came from Catholics, nor would any Protestant dare 
to speak publicly of them so disparagingly as do their own 
people. The wife of a foreign consul, herself a Catholic, 
declared that "there were but three or four priests in the 
entire Church in that city to whom an honest woman could 
confess." The people consider the confessional, chiefly fre- 
quented by women, as an organized institution for the pollu- 
tion of the family. 

Not until 1868 did religious freedom, guaranteed in theory, 
become anything more than an unfulfilled promise. At that 
time the Protestant world was roused to hope and ardor 
by the reports from Spain. Various Churches at once sent 
missionaries, and volunteers were not wanting who of their 
own motion, or under the direction of self-originated com- 
mittees, hastened into the field — a few with, but most with- 
out, a knowledge of the language. In various sections they 
were welcomed with every manifestation of interest. The 
promise, however, was not sustained. The burial of the 



72 Travels in Three Continents. 

dead and visitation of the sick constantly appealed in behalf 
of the established Church. Though a man had determined 
to become a Protestant, his wife, mother, and sister would 
resist it to the last. Horror of being refused burial in 
consecrated ground was constantly before the sick; the taunt 
of changing religion on every lip; and a variety of petty per- 
secutions began, especially in the towns, villages, and country 
districts. 

Those who crowded to hear evangelical preachers, regard- 
ing them as symbols of a revolt against monarchy, and who 
at first were prone to say, "Why, I believe as you say; put 
my name down to join your church; I am with you," 
when they heard of conversion, and were solemnly warned 
that no priest could absolve them, but God only, lost interest 
in the movement, and speedily fell away. All the middle 
classes, and those of the higher who began to show any in- 
terest in Protestantism, experienced the force of social odium. 
So hostile is the atmosphere that those who attempt to move 
in society in Spain must not avow themselves Protestants. 

Here is an instance. An English lady, residing in one of 
the chief cities in southern Spain, her husband having a large 
business there, was in the habit of giving receptions, which 
were numerously attended by the elite. She was not a 
Romanist, but had not affiliated herself with the Protestant 
church in the place. During her absence in England in the 
summer, it was rumored, though falsely, that she intended to 
connect herself with the Protestant church on her return 
in the autumn. When she came back, knowing nothing of 
this rumor, she issued cards for a reception as before, and not 
one Spaniard of the many invited attended. 

Protestant congregations for worship are small, the largest 
scarcely numbering one hundred and fifty, including all the 
children in the schools, most of them being much smaller 
than that. Yet, from the point of view of a lover of 
liberty for both Catholic and Protestant, there are several 
things which more than justify the effort. To have seen a 
Protestant school in the house in which Philip II lived while 
the Escorial was building; to have heard the singing of 
Protestant hymns in the city in which thousands were con- 



Peculiarities of the Spaniards. 73 

demned "to the pleasant death of the stake;" to have 
listened to plain Protestant preaching within fifteen minutes' 
walk of the very spot where the Inquisition was established; 
to have tracts on "the way of salvation" thrust into one's 
hands in a street along which wild huzzas of fiendish joy filled 
the air when a woman was brought forth to be burned for her 
allegiance to Christ, and to hear a Gospel sermon where first 
the pagan, afterward the Mohammedan, then the Catholic de- 
clared that nothing other than what he believed should be 
taught or believed — surely this, to everyone who, whatever his 
creed may be, rejoices in human progress, is something worth 
tossing to and fro upon stormy seas, and traveling weary miles 
on land to do. to see, to hear, and to feel! 



74 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Bullfights of Spain. 

Popularity of Bullfights — Cost — Description — Attempts to Suppress — Atti- 
tude of the Church. 

Bullfights were never more popular than they are to-day, 
and for twenty years have been increasing in influence, ex- 
travagance, and numbers attending. The theater occupies a 
secondary place, not only in the feelings of the lower, but in 
the sentiments of the upper classes. Not that the people of 
Spain love the theater less, but they love the bullfights far 
more. 

Barcelona has opera houses and theaters, one of which holds 
four thousand persons, and disputes with three or four other 
cities for the honor of having the largest in Europe. But the 
bull ring is twice as large as the theater, and Barcelona is 
proud of its fights, equal to those of any city in Spain, except 
Valencia and Madrid. At Madrid the bull ring will seat 
twelve thousand seven hundred persons, and is a wonderful 
structure, to explore which consumed an afternoon. It is 
built in the style of an ancient Roman circus, and in it the 
most famous fights take place. The highest salaries are paid, 
"and the most distinguished professionals employed." The 
bulls are specially bred in the finest pastures. 

On Easter Sunday, a few minutes after the gorgeous pa- 
geants in the churches and cathedrals are at an end, the season 
commences. The succeeding Sundays are bull days until the 
heat of dog days enervates man and beast. There is a second 
season in the autumn. Performances begin about half past 
four in the afternoon, and last two or three hours; a good seat 
costs one dollar and a half. 

The ring of Malaga is of extraordinary size and located in 
the best part of the city. At Salamanca, where the University 
is practically in a state of collapse, the ring is very prosperous. 



s 



-.-.. 



i' ! 







The Bullfights of Spain. 77 

The bullfights of Valencia are famous, and as is generally the 
case the ring belongs to the trustees of the hospital. It seats 
fifteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-one persons. Well has 
it been remarked that it is in harmony with reason that the 
trustees of the hospitals should own these buildings, for the 
fever excited in the people and the accidents furnish patients 
as well as funds. The fights in Valencia are considered by 
many second only to those of Madrid. 

Seville is called the alma mater of the ring, because in the 
opinion of those who have investigated the matter, the bull ring, 
though based on Roman institutions, as it now is "is indu- 
bitably a thing devised by the Moors of Spain, for those in 
Africa have neither the sport, the ring, nor the recollection." 
At Seville the ring is of stone, occupies a conspicuous place 
on the banks of the Guadalquivir, and will seat eleven thou- 
sand. 

Near Cordova, in the famous pastures, we saw thousands of 
bulls, and as the country is without fences, except here and 
there a wall to keep together those that have been selected for 
the approaching fights, the scene resembled the Western plains 
before the buffalo had been exterminated. 

Each exhibition costs from fifteen hundred to two thousand 
dollars. The day before the spectacle the bulls are brought 
to the town, causing intense excitement. The people dress in 
their best, and all classes are so wrought up that they can 
hardly contain themselves. Formerly only gentlemen fought; 
now none but professionals. Seville and the whole of southern 
Spain were in a state of ferment at the time of our visit, pre- 
paring for a bullfight of extraordinary magnificence, the pro- 
ceeds to be given to the widow of a man who had been killed 
in the ring some time before. It was expected that she would 
receive at least ten thousand dollars. We saw the bulls in 
special cars, drawn by horses and guarded by officials. 

The bullfight is always the same. The opening is an- 
nounced with pomp. The president takes his seat in a box 
in the center, and the performers pass before him in pro- 
cession. These consist of picadors, who carry spears, ride 
on horses, advance and receive the bull's attack, for before 
they can attack him he rushes upon them. The chulos fol- 



78 Travels in Three Continents. 

low the picadors ; they are apprentices who divert the bull 
from the picadors. Then come the banderilleras, who are on 
foot and carry darts, which they plant, if possible, in the neck 
of the bull. In the third act the espada comes forward to slay 
the bull with the sword. During the two or three hours of 
performance from six to eight bulls are killed. Men, women, 
and children yell and utter every possible form of praise or 
blame for man and brute. Several horses are killed, and the 
scene, as they leap about the ring after being gored by the 
bulls, is unfit for description. When a bull is killed he is 
dragged off by mules, glittering with flags and tinkling bells. 
Slow bulls are beaten, abused, and anathematized by the specta- 
tors ; "such animals as show the white feather are loathed as 
depriving the public of their just rights, and are beaten as they 
pass within reach by sticks carried by the people; " but a "mur- 
derous bull, who gores horses, upsets men, and clears the 
plaza, becomes a universal favorite. Long life is wished to 
him by those who know he must be killed within ten minutes. 
. . . The horsemen often show marvelous skill in managing to 
place their horses as a rampart between them and the bull." 
When deadly struggles take place, every expression of anxiety, 
fear, eagerness, horror, and delight is visible. These feelings 
reach the highest pitch when the horse, maddened with wounds 
and terror, plunging to the fatal struggle, crimson streams of 
blood streaking his foaming body, flies from the infuriated bull. 

When the horses are dead they are dragged off, and when 
the picador is wounded he is carried out and forgotten, new 
gladiators appearing. A gentleman informed me that he had 
seen twelve dead horses hauled away from the scene after hav- 
ing been butchered in a hideous manner. 

The bull is one of the most terrible animals when roused. 
Sometimes wild beasts are brought to contend with him, and 
within the last twenty-five years a bull slew successively a lion 
brought from Africa and a tiger brought from India to fight 
with him. On another occasion this bull encountered a lion 
and a tiger at the same time and disabled both. As he was 
then believed to be unconquerable, an elephant was brought 
upon the scene. This ponderous animal simply pressed upon 
the spine of the hero of so many conflicts and crushed him 



The Bullfights of Spain. 79 

into an incoherent mass. That elephant was kept in Madrid 
and exhibited until his death. 

This fiendish cruelty is defended by the Spaniards and their 
sympathizers. The horses, they say, are old animals of no 
account. They have to be blinded, otherwise they would not 
face the bull. If they are only wounded the gash is sewed up 
and stopped with tow, and they are still forced to fight. The Span- 
iards say that the bull is a tame, almost a domestic, animal, 
and would never fight at all unless roused by the sight of blood, 
and to use these old horses for that purpose is not to be con- 
demned. They charge against other nations similar things, 
speaking contemptuously of the Protestants who object to 
their fights, and yet play the salmon and chase the hare and 
the fox. 

When the intelligence and sensibility of the horse and his 
services to mankind are taken into the account, whatever may 
be said for or against hunting or fishing, that the cases are not 
parallel is clear. The Spaniards also contend that the effects 
produced upon them are not the same as upon people not ac- 
customed to such scenes. That is the same as to affirm that the 
effect of a brutal prize fight would be different upon persons 
who never saw it from that produced upon those who are in 
the habit of witnessing such spectacles. What blunts the sen- 
sibilities to such sights as Spanish bullfights is brutalizing and 
degrading. Several American ladies and gentlemen concluded 
to go to a bullfight, notwithstanding it was upon the Sabbath. 
Having sophisticated their consciences, they went, and one 
said to another: "Now, you are here on Sunday; whatever 
sin there is in it you have committed, and had better fix your 
eyes on everything and see it through." 

In less than fifteen minutes after it began the spectacle was 
too horrible to be endured, so that all the ladies save one were 
made ill, and she could not turn her eyes from the horrible 
sight. One of the gentlemen fainted and fell to the floor. A 
Frenchman sitting near them also fell in a swoon. The entire 
party, in less than half an hour, were compelled to retreat. 
This was at a fight given in honor of the King of Portugal, at 
that time visiting Madrid. 

It is the conduct of many Americans and Englishmen that 



8o Travels in Three Continents. 

gives the defenders of bullfights their strongest practical 
point. They go to the disgusting exhibitions, and often develop 
a mania which leads them to boast "that they went every 
Sunday while they were in Spain." We saw members of 
Christian churches who expressed great disappointment at the 
postponement of a bullfight which they had expected to at- 
tend; and a young lady gave us an account of the conduct of 
her minister, from Scotland, who went to a bullfight on Sun- 
day, " just to see wJidt the customs of the country were." 

The attitude of Roman Catholicism is theoretically one of 
condemnation, but practically bullfights are encouraged by the 
Church, which in many places has a strong, though indirect, 
interest in the profits. 

At the bull ring at Madrid a chapel is attached to the ring 
in which the bullfighters, before entering the arena, meet and 
have a short religious service, a priest being in readiness. In 
ancient times those killed on the spot were denied burial rites 
on the ground that they died without confessing; but a priest 
is "now in attendance with Su Magestad (the sacred Host), 
ready to give always spiritual assistance to a dying combatant." 

Queen Isabella was opposed to the fights, though they were 
far less cruel then than now, and had a direct influence upon 
the breed of horses and the development among gentlemen 
of courage and dexterity with the lance. The pope issued 
edicts against them, yet they persisted, and under the despot- 
ism of fashion the bullfight was "stripped of its chivalrous 
character and degenerated into the vulgar butchery of low 
mercenary bullfighters, just as did our rings and tournaments 
of chivalry into those of ruffian pugilists." 

In 1868 a bill was brought into the Cortes to abolish bull- 
fights, but the sympathies of almost the entire people being 
with the spectacle, the bill was rejected. 



To "Afric's Sunny Fountains." 



CHAPTER X. 
To "Afric's Sunny Fountains." 

Voyage to Tangier — Views along the Route — Arrival — Street Scenes — A 
Moorish School. 

On the afternoon of Christmas we sailed through the Bay of 
Malaga into the Mediterranean. Our vessel had a truly Afri- 
can name, the Mogador, named after a part of the city of 
Morocco. No quieter sea ever reflected a more golden sun- 
set than did the Mediterranean that evening. But the promise 
to the eye. like many to the ear, was broken to the heart, for 
when the day was done the winds began their revels, which 
soon plunged men, women, and children into one common gulf 
of nausea and despondency. Through the short, choppy waves 
the Mogador swiftly pushed, and wretched as we were, it was 
a pleasure to pass everything that rode the waves that night. 
A little after ten o'clock the storm subsided, the clouds disap- 
peared, and the rugged mountains of the African coast stood 
forth in the starlight like stupendous battlements as we anchored 
in the harbor of Ceuta. This is the " Botany Bay" of Spain. 

The town, like ancient Rome, stands on seven hills, and its 
name is said to be a corruption of septan. The ancients 
called it Abyla, and one of its mountains formed one of the 
Pillars of Hercules. The numerous fortifications on adjacent 
hills, and the towering masses of mountains, were startling 
exhibitions of power. 

The next day we sailed over the same route which the 
Moors took when they set forth to conquer Spain, and an- 
chored in the harbor of Algeciras, the point at which they 
landed. It was in this harbor that we obtained our first view 
of the Rock of Gibraltar. After a brief stay at this place, ot 
no importance now, though once the Moor's key to Spain, 
and the scene of the greatest crusade of the fourteenth cen- 
tury, we resumed our course through the Straits of Gibraltar. 
Gibraltar, with its forts, its town, and the harbor filled with ship- 



82 Travels in Three Continents. 

ping, was in full view ; across was the entire line of the northwest 
coast of Africa, its hills and mountains covered with vegetation. 

Sailing close to Spain, we soon sighted Cape Trafalgar's 
low, sandy shore, scene of one of the greatest of naval en- 
counters. After we had buffeted the waves in a violent storm 
for a long time, the Bay of Tangier came into view, forming 
an amphitheater about three miles wide, to which the shores 
correspond, the city rising on the slopes of hills. From the 
deck northward we saw the citadel, and southward the white 
houses of the town. Formerly there was no pier, and it 
was impossible for vessels to land passengers; but such was 
the bigotry of the people that the Mohammedans would not 
carry a Christian, and passengers were taken to the shore on 
the backs of Jews. We had heard of the pier, and supposed 
that we should land as at a European port, but it had been 
broken by the preceding storms, and we were compelled to 
take the boats. Many more Moors clambered up the ship's 
side than there were passengers, and wrangling about the prices 
was fierce. Ingratiating ourselves with the health officer, who 
spoke English, we ascertained the fixed rate, and sharing his 
boat, had no trouble in the settlement. 

The harbor, notwithstanding the fast increasing darkness, 
was beautiful, and the domes and minarets of the mosques on 
the hillsides, so unlike the towers and steeples of Christian 
churches, would have been sufficient, had we drifted instead of 
steered into the harbor, to show that we were landing upon 
an unknown shore. Once upon terra firma, we were led through 
a long, dark, narrow alley as weird an entrance as stranger ever 
had. At a turn two solemn-looking, turbaned Moors in white, 
wearing long beards, and having the aspect of authority, at- 
tracted our attention. Passport in hand, we were ready to 
surrender the baggage, when the health officer, knowing that 
we were Americans, informed them that we had nothing duti- 
able, whereupon they gravely bowed and we passed on. The 
alley led to a street not much wider, but lighter, and in five 
minutes we entered the hotel. 

Tangier, the capital of a province, and the residence of for- 
eign ministers and consuls to the Court of Morocco, and fre- 
quently visited by English, French, and Spanish merchants 



Hum 





To " Afric's Sunny Fountains." 85 

upon business, and by travelers, is provided with two or three 
excellent hotels, the Continental, where we stayed, surpassing 
any in Spain. In front of it were scores of Moors, and in the 
hall perhaps a dozen. Male Moors waited efficiently upon 
the tables, and were picturesque in their fantastic jellabiyah 
(dressing gowns), turbans, and sandals; attentive, polite, sur- 
prisingly noiseless, and rapid. We were hardly in our rooms 
when a man, who might have posed as the sultan, or as the 
Caliph Haroun al Raschid, so far as dress and dignified con- 
descension were concerned, appeared. There was an excess 
of complacency in his smile, and something of flippancy in his 
dainty manners as he entered, and when he said, with a smile 
that exhibited the whitest of teeth, and was suggestive of great 
expectations, "I am ze commissionaire of ze hotel," we saw 
that this august being was willing for the sum of two dollars 
per day to conduct us through such portions of the empire of 
Morocco as we might elect. We did not employ him, as his 
time and ours could not be made to agree. But guides were 
numerous, and in due time we sallied forth into the streets, 
through which no carriage can pass, so narrow are they, and so 
crowded. Jews, Negroes, Moors, women with their faces cov- 
ered, country people with peculiar dresses, donkeys, mules, and 
water carriers, swarming together, gave the appearance of a 
dense crowd, and one paused at almost every step to consider 
whether he could make his way. 

A traveler says of the crowd: "They were all oppressed by 
an immense sadness or a mortal w r eariness, none smiling, but 
moving one behind the other with slow and silent steps, like a 
procession of specters in a cemetery." This is a misrepre- 
sentation. The street crowds in Tangier are grave, but many 
smile and gesticulate like Italians or Frenchmen ; and as for 
their moving with slow and silent steps, they are among the 
most rapid walkers in the world. As they transact business in 
the street, they crouch against the walls in front of the shops, 
and the poorer classes crowd against the sides of the narrow 
lanes; being dressed in white, the color of the walls, they pass 
almost unobserved, and have a spectral look. 

The streets are not only narrow, but crooked and dirty, all 
the ordinary rubbish being left there. The houses have no 



86 Travels in Three Continents. 

windows. Most of the shops are mere holes in the wall 
receiving all light and air through the front door, which is 
entirely open. The interior of the lawyers' offices can be 
seen plainly from the street, and we beheld ancient men por- 
ing over documents, and others writing as slowly as children 
with their first copies. Of the larger shops one can have no 
idea from the entrance. We were conducted to one of the 
best for the purchase of antiquities. Entering by a small door 
we passed through a room not much larger than a closet, 
then through another, and after climbing a narrow stairway, 
found that the display rooms were three or four in number, 
and contained thousands of curious objects. The Moors are 
sharp and shrewd at a bargain. They consider the European, 
and especially the traveler, a legitimate object of prey. One 
who continued to show his goods long after we had told him 
that we did not desire to buy, said in broken English: "We 
want to taste your money to see if it is sweet." When we 
persisted in refusing he lost his temper, and told us to "keep 
our money in our own bowels." In general, as they hope for 
another visit, they are polite to the last. 

In a Moorish school the children sit on the floor, the teacher, 
generally an old man of venerable aspect, sitting in the midst 
of them, crosslegged. The Prophet thought that a knowl- 
edge of the Koran was knowledge enough for a believer, and 
this the children have to commit to memory. I visited such a 
school in Tangier. The old teacher, with a long stick, was com- 
pelling the children to repeat aloud passages from the Koran. 
If they did not do it correctly, he rebuked; if they were inat- 
tentive, he beat them. Whatever may be said of corporal pun- 
ishment in its moral aspects, that it compels attention there 
is no doubt; for when that stick descended the laugh of the 
young Mussulman was changed into a wail, and with tremen- 
dous energy he began to repeat the sacred words. As the whole 
school talks aloud, continually swaying backward and forward 
— a thing believed by them to be beneficial to the memory — the 
hubbub was prodigious; but what was unintelligible to us was 
not so to the teacher, and from the amount which the children 
recited the plan seemed successful. 



The Eye of Africa. 89 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Eye of Africa. 

The Great Market — Caravan — Distinctions Indicated by Dress — Slavery, Past 
and Present — The Prison — Coffee House — Suburbs. 

The great market at Tangier on Sunday or Thursday is in- 
describable, but explains itself to the eye. All around the 
square are shops. In the center, covering several acres, 
thousands of persons buying and selling; donkeys and camels 
laden with country produce and manufactured articles are 
continually arriving and departing; enveloped in their peculiar 
cloaks or hoods, in groups of five, eight, or ten, hundreds of 
women are squatting upon the ground; stalwart Negroes, 
tall Mussulmans, and Berbers mingling with hundreds of 
Moors; and here and there a snake charmer, conjuror, and 
story-teller, each with his audience as in the time of the 
Thousand-and-one Nights' Entertainment. 

Tents are being erected, coffee is being pounded (they do 
not grind it in Morocco), and everything which the earth pro- 
duces or the people manufacture is exposed for sale. Heavy 
rains had covered the ground with a layer of mud and 
water, but neither men nor women appeared to care, walking 
through it barefoot, sitting down in it. The gravity of the 
Moors when not in action gives place when they engage in bar- 
gaining, or meet their friends in the markets, to animated con- 
versation, with graceful and sometimes violent gesticulation. 

The beautiful bronze handwork, for which the Moors are 
famous, we saw in process of manufacture in the shops; also 
looked into some of the factories where is made Morocco 
leather, the only real native industry. 

A huge caravan expected was delayed by the storm. These 
are movable markets, carrying into the interior of Africa many 
merchantable articles, taking up, as they cross the desert, loads 
of salt, which, with the other commodities, they exchange in 



9° 



Travels in Three Continents. 



the Soudan for gold dust, ostrich feathers, and, even to this 
day, slaves for Morocco. 

Distinctions existing among the Moors are indicated by the 
dress. It is quite an art, in which we took the first lessons 
here, to comprehend them. Beggars were not as numerous 
as in Spain, but there were enough, many being blind, to 




Snake Charmer. 



throw a gloomy aspect over the streets. One traveler says 
that he had not seen among the Arabs a hunchback, or a lame 
man, or a man with the rickets, but many without a nose and 
without an eye, one or both. We saw all of these, but the 
number of them was small in comparison with the blind. 

Many of the common people went about barefooted and 



The Eye of Africa. 91 

barelegged. Some wore sandals, which slipped up and down 
at the heel. The feet of many of both sexes were covered 
with corns and bunions. The absence of women of the better 
classes was noticeable; the few who did appear were covered 
to the eyes, according to the Mohammedan custom. Only the 
very poor or the abandoned appear in public with faces un- 
covered. Some ladies staying at the hotel found no difficulty 
in visiting the harem of the sultan, and gave us interesting 
descriptions of what they saw. Of course where the face of no 
male Moslem other than the owner could be seen, "a Christian 
dog " could not be allowed. 

Till within a few years there was a slave market in Tangier; 
through the influence of foreign governments this has been 
abolished. We visited the site, but had little to say consider- 
ing how short a time it was since similar auction blocks for 
the sale of human beings existed in our own land. We were 
told that slaves are still sold in the interior, and that they are 
dealt in privately even in Tangier. Indeed, one of the resi- 
dents pointed out a Jew riding on a donkey followed by a 
Negro, and said that the Negro was the Jew's slave. Another 
denied this, affirming that a Jew was not allowed to hold a 
Mohammedan in slavery, and that Negroes were all of that 
faith. I conclude that slaves are still held by the Moors of 
that city, but only as domestics. Nearly one third of the 
population of Tangier consists of Jews. They wear a peculiar 
dress and are despised, but have their revenge by making 
money constantly out of their persecutors. The Jewish 
women are so handsome that now, as in the time of Esther, 
they are sometimes the means of protecting the men from their 
oppressors. 

Nothing more horrible than the prison at Tangier can be 
conceived. It is divided into two parts, one for the criminal 
inhabitants of the city, and the other for those of the province 
of which Tangier is the capital. Prisoners are not allowed 
beds, are placed in one large hall, the more desperate being 
heavily ironed. A huge wooden door, having an aperture nine 
inches in diameter, is the means of entrance and exit, and be- 
fore it sit two aged men. Around stand numbers of Moorish 
soldiers acting as guards. We looked through the aperture 



92 Travels in Three Continents. 

and saw hundreds of forms in every stage of filth, some look- 
ing desperate and defiant, old men striding across the floor 
with heavy irons attached to their feet, no conversation, not a 
smile. Some had the stony stare of despair, others the ex- 
pressionless eye of idiocy. The stench was intolerable. 

While we were gazing a man rushed to the hole and thrust 
his head up. I saw in an instant that he was a maniac. He 
declaimed to us for the space of five minutes, and one of the 
guards said : " He is mad. He is telling you that his father 
died, and he and his brothers disputed about the prop- 
erty, and they tried to rob him of his share, and when he re- 
sisted they put him in here, and he has been here two months, 
and he wants you to see that his cause is looked into." 

While he was raving, faces behind his were grinning hid- 
eously at his demonstrations. Let the artist who wishes to 
paint a picture of hell go to Tangier and look through those 
openings. The women's department contained only two per- 
sons, who were in charge of an enormous Negress, weighing 
not less than three hundred pounds. As we were leaving a 
curious scene happened. A horse was fastened in the center 
of the square. One of our animals kicked it as he was being 
led past, and in an instant a hundred Moors appeared, who 
ran to and fro vociferating and gesticulating. Great was the 
excitement. A gigantic fellow felt it his duty to chastise our 
horse, but when he saw us smiling at his vehemence, he smiled 
also and retreated. This trivial scene showed the Arabs in a 
light very different from any aspect of their character pre- 
viously exhibited. 

One evening we visited a coffee house to hear the music. 
Ten or fifteen Moors, picturesquely dressed, squatting on the 
floor, played upon tambourines, rude dulcimers, and other 
stringed instruments, and sang monotonous airs. No charge 
was made for admission, but visitors were expected to buy 
coffee. The Arabs make their coffee without straining, and 
boil the sugar with it. It is thick and of a sickish taste, but 
old residents say that after one has learned to like it, no other 
preparation will please him. Late in the evening we took a 
long walk through the narrow streets in an unearthly dark- 
ness and silence; Arabs were standing asleep; in the niches 



The Eye of Africa. 93 

of the walls; others were rolled up in round balls; now and 
then a figure passed out of an alley and into a door; occa- 
sionally a sound of music floated upon the air, apparently 
afar off, but really close at hand within gloomy and narrow 
corridors; once in a great while we passed a single shop open, 
with one person seated within, but saw no light in any dwell- 
ing house. But for these exceptions, one might have believed 
himself wandering in an utterly deserted town. 

The suburbs of Tangier are charming, sea and land views 
rivaling each other in beauty and variety. Mounted upon 
steady going mules, we rode eight miles upon the road to Fez, 
the capital, visiting the villages and orange groves. During 
our ride hundreds of men and women, returning from the great 
market to their villages, passed us, all walking at the rate of 
about four miles an hour. Even the aged walked rapidly. 
They stared at us without hostility, but without any sign of 
recognition, and were always willing to give information as 
to the route. In the city the women and children sometimes 
mutter and otherwise express their contempt and hatred for 
Christians. In that climate, the most delightful in the world, 
the temperature being in winter from fifty to sixty-four, and 
rarely rising above eighty-two in summer, they need no fire, 
and live most of the time in the open air. Their houses, 
made of mud stiffened with straw, though without windows, 
are comfortable enough. Lovely were the orange groves, 
interlined with roses in full bloom; exquisite the fruit, the 
sweetest and juiciest imaginable. 

No drunkenness was visible in Tangier. The religion of 
the people forbids it. They are addicted to smoking Cannabis 
Indica, or Indian hemp, the powerful drug from which hasheesh 
is obtained, and tobacco. Though the sultan has forbidden 
the use of both, they are used secretly. 



94 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XII. 
Condition and Outlook of Morocco. 

Difficulty of Obtaining Information — Government — The Sultan — Moham- 
medanism in Morocco — Decadence and Probable Fate of the Nation. 

In no country have I had more difficulty in ascertaining 
what I wished to know than in Morocco. An English gentle- 
man who has transacted business with Moorish merchants for 
more than twenty years told me that upon no question relating 
to the administration of the government or to peculiar religious, 
social, or political Moorish questions would they say anything, 
though free to converse upon other subjects. He also said 
that nine tenths of what he read in the English papers about 
Morocco he knew to be false or distorted. About the time 
that we were there the London papers published a sensational 
account of the execution of two men by decapitation, in which 
the executioner is represented as sawing away for a long time 
with a dull knife, and then asking for another, crying out: 
"Give me another knife; mine doesn't cut." The circum- 
stances and language were given in detail. A short time 
afterward the Morocco Times, published in Tangier, proved 
conclusively that what was alleged took place many years ago. 
What is here stated of the peculiarities and prospects of the 
country is either known by me or believed on the best informa- 
tion obtainable. 

The government of Morocco is an absolute despotism. 
The emperor, or sultan, claims descent from Mohammed, and 
he belongs to the class Ashraf. He retains his court alter- 
nately in the three cities of Morocco, Fez, and Mequinez. 
The Mohammedan population believe him the lawful caliph, 
the spiritual chief of Islam. Notwithstanding his abso- 
lute character the mountain chiefs in the Atlas range defy 
him, and live in virtual independence of the government. 
Joseph Thompson, the explorer, arrived in London in Novem- 
ber, 1888, and read an essay before the Royal Geographical 



Condition and Outlook of Morocco, 97 

Society describing the utter inability of the sultan to protect 
him in the interior. He stated that a large part of the Atlas 
Mountain regions is as entirely unknown and unexplored as 
the interior of Africa. It has been only seven years since 
Dr. Foucauld made the first survey of those mountains, travel- 
ing in the guise of a Jew. Sir Joseph Hooker had done con- 
siderable for geography and botany, but it was not till this 
year that Mr. Thompson could obtain a passport from Sultan 
Muley Hassan, and that was strictly limited. I quote from 
his paper: "Though almost in touch with Europe, many parts 
of Morocco still remain as completely unexplored as many 
districts in the heart of Africa." Mr. Thompson and his com- 
panions being at Marakesh, and desiring to witness certain 
festivities, presented their credentials from the sultan and 
asked the governor for two soldiers to be placed at their dis- 
posal. As a reply they received an arbitrary order to remain 
indoors for the whole of that day. They went out alone, rely- 
ing upon the letter of the sultan, but were mobbed and grossly 
insulted. Not long afterward a French explorer was treated 
in the same manner. 

Within forty hours' mule ride of Tangier — that is, about one 
hundred and fifty miles — is a place called Sheshouan, where, 
until a year ago, only one Christian is supposed ever to have 
been. Blackwood 's Magazine for December, 1888, contained 
an account of the adventures of Mr. Walter Harris in reaching 
that point, showing that numbers of the tribes and the inhabit- 
ants are as independent of the sultan, as lawless, fanatical, 
and murderous as any people whom Stanley has encountered. 
The Beni Hassan men are of all the most quarrelsome and 
thievish, divided into professional branches, as the corn, cattle, 
horse, or street thief. When the Italian embassy passed 
through that country on the way to the capital, after the 
governor had accompanied it a distance of about two miles, 
he asked leave to return, and when the Italian embassador de- 
manded why, he answered : "Because my own house is not 
secure." 

The government, being absolute so far as it goes, is corrupt. 
No rich Moor dares to reveal the fact that he has much money. 
Agricultural systems have not been improved; exportation is 



98 Travels in Three Continents. 

discouraged; the rules of commerce are antiquated, and taxa- 
tion is an organized system of extortion. In the courts no 
Christian's word or oath is taken; hence in 1880, at the con- 
vention of Madrid, the protection system was introduced. 
Fourteen nations are represented by diplomatic representatives. 
Each holds its court in every town for the trial of cases in 
which its citizens are involved, except that in three instances 
the same consul acts for more than one nation. In the lega- 
tions the privilege is practically absolute. Employees of 
embassadors cannot be tried in any court of Morocco without 
due notice being given to their superiors. Foreigners engaged 
in commerce have protection, and are allowed two protected 
native agents, called Semsars, and the contracting powers may 
select twelve natives to be protected. While this peculiar 
system settles some difficulties, a great many abuses have 
grown up under it. The Moors, ever ready to bribe, find for- 
eigners equally ready to be bribed, and endeavor to circum- 
vent both the government of the sultan and the operation of 
the protection. 

The principle upon which taxation is levied in Morocco is to 
pounce upon any unprotected citizen and make an arbitrary 
assessment. If he dresses better than others, educates his 
children, or builds a fine house, he is considered lawful prey. 

Little can be learned of the proceedings of the sultan. At 
the time we were there contradictory reports about his health 
were afloat. Some said he would soon come down to the sea, 
others that he was too feeble to mount a horse, others that he 
was staying away for political reasons; but the last person to 
ask information from was any influential officer or Arab. Sul- 
tans in Morocco are elected, but it is necessary that they 
should be descendants of the Prophet Mohammed. As there 
are two lines, the Aliweein, to which the present sultan be- 
longs, and Drissian, and as he may be selected from either 
line, peculiar developments often result. When the last sultan 
died there was a difference of opinion whether Muley Hassan, 
the present sultan, or Muley Abbas, the brother of the late 
sovereign, was preferable. Muley Hassan had the majority, 
and his uncle attempted to retreat into obscurity, but Muley 
Hassan "sent word to his uncle that he desired no family 



Condition and Outlook of Morocco. 99 

scandal, and as his speedy death was a state necessity he 
would perhaps arrange for it in any way which suited him 
best." Muley Abbas chose to drink himself to death, which 
took place in about three months. There was another uncle, 
Muley Ali. He was killed because some partisan cried out in 
the mosque: " May Allah render Muley Ali ever victorious! " 
The sultan presented him with a sum of money and a female 
slave, whom etiquette forced him to marry. Soon after "the 
beautiful slave prostrated herself before the sultan, and, with 
loud wailings, announced that the Angel of Death had unex- 
pectedly smitten Ali in the night, so that she found him dead 
that very morning." Another relative, Muley Dris, was sent 
to quell a rebellion, but before the scene of battle was reached 
the tent pole fell and killed him. This left the present sultan 
in undisputed control. 

Tangier, though so near Europe, is far from it in every par- 
ticular. The Mohammedans are very superstitious, seek to 
escape the sterner requisitions imposed upon them by the 
Prophet, to enlarge their liberties in moral directions, and 
make up for it by intensifying their fanaticism and obstinate 
adherence to ceremonies. They display none of the qualities 
which gave their ancestors a glorious place in history. Of 
science they know nothing. Their own language is deteri- 
orating because of indolence, and inherited institutions are 
crumbling. With a perfect climate and the most productive 
soil, they raise no more than necessity requires. To look 
at their plows carries the observer back several thousand 
years, and instead of the thrashing machines now used by civil- 
ized nations, or even the flail which our ancestors employed a 
short time ago, the wheat is separated from the chaff by mak- 
ing the animals tread over the grain which is thrown into the 
air with shovels. In trade the Moors cannot succeed except 
by borrowing money from the Jews, though they are the de- 
scendants of the men who formed an empire rivaling the glory 
of the best days of England, a power which made all Europe 
tremble, which led in learning, established universities, main- 
tained great fleets, and made its prowess felt at "Vienna, 
Venice, and Warsaw." 

During my travels in Spain, not the achievements of the 



ioo Travels in Three Continents. 

Christians, nor the scenery of the country, was the most im- 
pressive, but the ruins of the glory of the Moors. No more 
gloomy instance of the decadence of a nation can be found in 
modern history. 

Tangier, it is said, is the eye of Africa looking into Europe, 
and the eye of Europe looking into Africa is Gibraltar; but 
Gibraltar is the glass in the hand of England, used at some- 
what long range, it is true, but the arm of England has always 
been very long in proportion to its body, and its hand has 
never yet been too small to grasp what its interests required. 
Should the present sultan die, and the country fall into a 
state of discord, it would not be surprising to see England, 
under cover of protecting the property and lives of the 
British residents of Morocco, go down upon the scene and 
produce complications which would result in adding Morocco 
to her empire. That this would contribute to the civilization 
of the people there can be little doubt; what other Powers 
would do about it is a difficult problem. One thing is certain, 
that Tangier would be worth much more to England than 
Gibraltar can ever be for the purpose of preventing hostile 
vessels from passing in or out of the Mediterranean. 



Gibraltar. 103 



CHAPTER XIII. 
Gibraltar. 

Landing — Steamer Flying American Flag — Long Service of the Hon. Horatio 
J. Spiague — Famous Visitors to Gibraltar — Population — Military Aspect — 
Curious Spectacles — Markets — Tailless Monkeys. 

A rock, unique in form and place, sublime, impressive as 
a center of historic movements, marking the confines of the 
ancient world, and for more than one hundred and eighty 
years an impregnable fortress and monument of the greatness 
of that nation whose vast possessions in every continent, as 
well as its unquestioned supremacy upon the sea, have made 
it for centuries the most influential power on the globe; this 
is Gibraltar. As we approached by sea it was enshrouded in 
mists, and barely discernible; but the vapors dispersed, and 
the stupendous mass, rising to a perpendicular height of 
fourteen hundred and thirty feet, came into view with a sud- 
denness which produced the effect of a moving object, in 
comparison with which our vessel seemed a speck. 

A writer has compared the rock to a "gigantic granite 
sphinx, with long, broad, loose, flowing, and undulating out- 
lines, like those of a lion asleep, and whose head, somewhat 
truncated, is turned toward Africa, as if with a dreamy stead- 
fast, deep attention." It is three miles long, of irregular width, 
six miles in circumference, rising from the ocean and from a 
level plain scarcely five feet above the sea, at the head of the 
Straits of Gibraltar. These straits are about forty miles long. 
Beyond them at the west, is the Atlantic; and at the east the 
Mediterranean. Landings are extremely difficult, and we de- 
scended from the vessel into a rowboat which conveyed us 
to the shore outside the gates. The gates are shut at sun- 
down and not opened until sunrise, a gun from the fortress giv- 
ing the signal. As the time of sunset changes, notice of the 
hour of closing is each day placed upon the outer gates. 
After this there is no admittance without special permission, 



104 Travels in Three Continents. 

not easily secured. The first thing on landing was to secure 
a permit to enter, which was valid only for that afternoon. 
Having stated how long we intended to remain, a general per- 
mission to stay and to pass through the gates during the hours 
of the day was issued without charge. Formerly it was neces- 
sary for foreigners to exhibit their passports. 

While upon the steamer the harbor, a scene of beauty, was 
stretched out before us, all the more attractive to the eye than 
it otherwise would be, because not being well protected and of 
variable depth the shipping could not be crowded, and so resem- 
bled huge swans at rest upon the waves. To us the most at- 
tractive object was a steamship flying the American flag, a rare 
spectacle in the harbors of Europe. It was one of our naval ves- 
sels, the Enterprise, an old wooden ship, belonging to the fleet 
kept cruising in the various waters of Europe to protect Ameri- 
can interests, and to give the officers the opportunity of learning 
what is going on in the naval world. This fleet is so managed 
as to make the positions of the officers a prolonged and luxu- 
rious excursion to the finest ports and watering places of the 
Continent and adjacent islands. The Enterprise had just re- 
turned from a summer cruise in the vicinity of Norway, Sweden, 
and St. Petersburg, and after staying a few weeks at Gibraltar, 
was expected to repair to Villa Franca, near Nice, within a few 
minutes' ride of Monte Carlo, there to spend the rest of the 
winter. With such a naval armament as the United States 
possesses, were it not for the three thousand miles of stormy 
sea that roll between the Old and New Worlds, we should be 
beneath the contempt of the humblest maritime nation of 
Europe. 

The elevation of the Rock of Gibraltar is so great that the 
town built upon its sides looks, at a short distance, much 
more like a painting than an actual assemblage of houses. 
They rise in steep terraces, and the direct approach to various 
streets is by stone steps. 

I found my knowledge of Gibraltar far too vague and gen- 
eral to be satisfactory, and determined to expend upon read- 
ing and exploration time and toil sufficient to leave a vivid 
and symmetrical impression of its relations to civilization in 
Europe and Africa. In addition to the study of various 



Gibraltar. 105 

works, I derived valuable assistance from the Hon. Horatio J. 
Sprague, American consul at Gibraltar. He had occupied 
that position for forty-one years; his father filled it before 
him, and he was born upon the rock. His knowledge is 
extraordinary, and he introduced us to the public library in 
whose rooms are the leading papers and periodicals of Eu- 
rope, and more than forty thousand volumes. Mr. Sprague 
had translated from Spanish into English, and loaned to me, a 
noted work on Gibraltar by a Spanish author, Don Francisco 
Maria Montero. This translation, as yet unpublished, com- 
prises six hundred pages of manuscript, and abounds with 
details not to be elsewhere obtained. Our consular service, 
subject to the mutations of political parties, has been so often 
changed that a traveler cannot be certain on a second visit of 
finding the representative whose acquaintance he made on the 
first. But Mr. Sprague, who received his first appointment 
from James K. Polk, has not been disturbed through all the 
administrations, including the period of the civil war. At 
every point visited before reaching Gibraltar, I was advised to 
call upon Mr. Sprague, and, having personal letters, was re- 
ceived with a hospitality which has never been surpassed in 
my experience. His wife had been removed by death within 
a few years; but the venerable consul is fortunate in the pos- 
session of sons and daughters who fill the mansion, which 
his private means enable him to maintain, with the atmosphere 
of youth and the charms of genuine refinement, the result of 
their education in France and association with distinguished 
visitors who, from their childhood, have sat at the table of 
their parents. Three ex-presidents have been the guests of 
Mr. Sprague — Franklin Pierce, Millard Fillmore, and Ulysses 
S. Grant; the railway magnates Vanderbilt and Gould, hun- 
dreds of travelers, merchants, students, authors, and artists. 
Nor is his hospitality confined to persons of note, but, as we 
learned — not from himself, but by general inquiries in Gibral- 
tar — the humblest sailor, or the poorest wanderer overtaken 
by misfortune, receives the attention which his circumstances 
require. 

Gibraltar contains twenty-five thousand inhabitants, of whom 
seven thousand are English soldiers; indeed, more than three 



io6 Travels in Three Continents. 

quarters of the entire population are connected with the garri- 
son and military and other establishments of Great Britain. 
Many of the people were born on the rock; those who were 
not, among the commoner sort, apply to the natives the nick- 
name of "scorpions." This is generally taken in good humor, 
and one citizen responded to our question concerning his birth- 
place, that he was a "scorpion." 

Red-coated soldiers are seen constantly marching through 
the town; but when off duty they fill the cafes, pass in and 
out of liquor saloons, and are walking and standing in the 
streets and parks, lending a picturesque aspect to the place by 
the brightness of their uniforms and their erect, proud bear- 
ing; for among all the soldiers we have seen in Europe, none 
keep step so well or seem personally so proud as those of Eng- 
land. Whitewashed barracks are in different parts of the 
limited portions of Gibraltar suitable for building purposes, so 
that wherever one wanders he is likely to meet soldiers. The 
parade ground is at the .entrance of the Alameda. There the 
regimental bands play in the evening, and the music being 
fine, the people resort to this magnificent garden, which is laid 
out in the English style and filled with trees and flowers. 
Elevated above the water, its background the stern face of 
the rock, it affords a view of the bay, the shipping, the bar- 
racks, the town, the opposite coast of Spain, and the bound- 
less expanse of waters to the westward; and is itself an en- 
chanting prospect when seen from the deck of a vessel. 

The general trade of Gibraltar has declined, but in recent 
years it has come into importance as a coaling station. In 

1886 four thousand seven hundred and six steamers entered 
the port, with an average tonnage of about a thousand. In 

1887 a half million tons of coal were sold to them. As the 
coal is all brought over in ships, the harbor presents a lively 
and peculiar appearance. In every direction steamers are 
seen moored by the side of immense hulks loaded with coal. 
In the month preceding our visit four hundred and ninety-four 
steamers had touched at the port. 

While few private gardens exist at Gibraltar, many plants 
common to the south of Europe, others to the north of Africa, 
some to Asia, and a few indigenous to the rock grow there, 



Gibraltar. 107 

and vegetation appears on the naked summits, and in the in- 
terstices of the rock which was once covered with forests. 

Little necessary to support human life is produced in Gibral- 
tar, so that the markets are of vital importance. Fruits and 
vegetables come from Spain and Africa; beef chiefly from 
Barbary. We passed through the Moorish market, which is 
devoted principally to poultry, and on entering were greeted 
by the Moors with signs of interest; but as soon as they dis- 
covered that we wanted none of their fowls they left us 
with a grunt similar to that uttered by an American Indian. 
In the general market were displayed all the fruits with which 
we are familiar at home, and many others; among them fine 
apples. The salesman, perceiving us, called out in as good 
English as he could command: "Apples! fine apples." As 
we passed on he exclaimed: " American apples!" This was 
simply the compliment paid all through Europe to American 
apples. We have seen in France and Spain apples more beauti- 
ful and symmetrical in shape than are often found in America, 
so finely polished and of such peculiar form that one would 
suspect that they were wax; but in flavor and juiciness they 
were far below any of a score of varieties which can be found 
distributed through New England and the Middle States. 

In these markets the most curious spectacle is the crowd : 
" Moors, Turks, Greeks, Jews, the Spanish smuggler, the 
Catalan seller, the red coat of the English private, mingled 
together, bawling, disputing, bargaining, and cheating in their 
different tongues, ways, and gestures." A large number of 
Maltese have recently settled in Gibraltar, and are a some- 
what disorderly and dangerous element. When in Malta, 
which is under British control and discipline, they are orderly 
enough, but away from that point their fiery, daring, and re- 
vengeful disposition shows itself. They mingle with the mot- 
ley crowd in the markets, and add to the noise and confusion 
of tongues. 

In the Alameda, which is the fashionable promenade, the 
contrast of populations is equally striking. One sees London 
bonnets and Paris hats side by side with the mantilla de tiro; 
ladies with blue eyes and rosy complexions next to those hav- 
ing melting black orbs and olive skins. The differences in 



10S Travels in Three Continents. 

manner, toilet, and language noted, as we traversed the streets, 
markets, and public places, furnished us constant amusement. 

Among the animals native to the rock are hares and rabbits. 
Monkeys of extraordinary size still exist in the inaccessible 
fastnesses. They have no tails, and are harmless, but fre- 
quently come down and rob the gardens. They live on the 
roots of the palmettos and the fruits of the prickly pear. They 
are of a species to be found in northern Africa, and there has 
been much speculation whether they originally existed in 
Gibraltar or were brought in by the Arabs. Those who hold 
that the rock was once connected with Africa draw an argu- 
ment for that view from the existence of these Barbary apes 
on Gibraltar. Montero thinks either supposition possible. 
Andalusia was the Tarshish of the old times, and these are the 
descendants of the apes for which Solomon sent, as described 
in i Kings x, 22: " For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish 
with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of 
Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and pea- 
cocks." A native of Gibraltar told us that no dead body or 
skeleton of any of these apes has been found. Whether these 
manlike animals conceal them in caves, or throw them into the 
ocean, none can tell. 

Of public buildings there are in Gibraltar none of importance. 
A thousand towns in Europe have more to exhibit in the way 
of architecture, monuments, and other works of art. Had the 
English cathedral been intended as a burlesque of some form 
of architecture it would be counted a successful attempt. 
Presbyterians, Wesleyans, and other dissenting bodies have 
chapels, and there is a Roman Catholic church, a structure 
which, without saying much for it, can be represented as the 
most attractive public building in Gibraltar. 



Gibraltar. 109 



CHAPTER XIV. 
Gibraltar. — (Continued. ) 

Geological Formation — History — Tour of Exploration — View from the High- 
est Point — Gibraltar Compared with the North Cape — Power of England. 

Geologists describe the rock as composed of compact lime- 
stone, varied by beds of red sandstone, and fissures of bony 
breccia, resembling what is found in the limestone rocks of 
Nice, Pisa, and Dalmatia. In this they discover fossils, such 
as bones of antelope, deer, tigers, rabbits, rats, birds, shells. 
Fossil shellfish are found "with both valves adhering, " from 
which it is concluded that the animals must have been alive at 
the time of the upheaval. 

A convincing evidence of the catastrophic character of the 
formation is the existence of a marine beach nearly five hun- 
dred feet above the level of the sea. Some maintain that the 
rock was formed by four shocks. In the first was elevated the 
highest part, chiefly the northern crests; in the second, the mid- 
dle or western declivities; and in the third and fourth, the crests 
at the southern point. All, so far as I can ascertain, agree that 
no general change has taken place in the historic period. The 
rock is so steep as to afford the best opportunities for study- 
ing its geology, as the strata, almost from sea level to summit, 
can be distinguished without the trouble of excavation. 

As it rises from a flat surface, and there is no hill fifty feet 
high within several miles of it, Cribraltar presents an imposing, 
and, from some points of view, an appalling aspect. The 
Phoenicians either believed that this was the end of the world, 
or were determined to make others believe it, so that they 
could maintain a monopoly of the commerce of the region. 
The Pillars of Hercules are thought to have been Calpe, the 
Greek name for Gibraltar, and Abyla, a mountain opposite to 
it in Africa. It is supposed that with all their enterprise and 
curiosity, the Romans never went beyond the Pillars of Her- 
cules until the time of Augustus. In ancient times no human 



no Travels in Three Continents. 

beings lived upon the rock, which was the dwelling place of 
apes, wolves, and other wild animals. It derived its name 
from Gebal Tarik, who landed there April 7, 711. Fortified 
and held by the Moors until 1309; captured by Spain; twenty- 
seven years afterward reconquered by the Moors; held for 
one hundred and twenty-nine years; wrested from them once 
more, and finally incorporated with the Spanish crown in 1502, 
it was retained by Spain for two hundred and two years. 

In the first year of the eighteenth century all western Europe 
became involved in the war of the Spanish succession. The 
kings of France and Austria claimed the throne left vacant on 
the death of Charles II without heir. This would include the 
sovereignty of the Spanish Netherlands, the Milanese, Naples, 
Sicily, and Italy, and all the vast possessions Spain then held 
in America. The complications became so numerous through 
the operations of the King of France, who succeeded in having 
his second grandson Philip made king, that Great Britain, Ger- 
many, and Holland entered into an alliance against France and 
Spain. It was in the fourth year of that war, on the 24th of 
July, 1704, that the rock was attacked and captured by an 
English force, though it was taken in the name of the Aus- 
trian Duke. At the end of the conflict Gibraltar was given to 
Great Britain, which did not value the acquisition, and George 
I was ready to relinquish what was generally thought to be a 
"barren rock, an insignificant fort, and a useless charge." 
Spain tried to conquer it soon afterward, but failed. It was 
again besieged by France in 1779, and in 1780 Spain joined 
France in a siege lasting four years. An English author, with 
pardonable pride, speaking of the repulse of the besieging 
force, says: "It ended in the repulse of the enemy, whose 
floating batteries, the invention of the ingenious M. D'Arcon, 
— that could neither be burned, sunk, nor taken — were either 
burned, sunk, or taken by plain Englishmen, who stood to their 
guns, on the 13th of September, 1783." 

Our first tour of exploration consisted of a walk of about 
twelve miles, including the entire western front along the bay, 
ascending to the summit of Windmill Hill, passing around 
Europa Point to the east side of the rock. It was not possi- 
ble to accomplish a great distance on the east, as the cliffs are 



Gibraltar. hi 

perpendicular, and no fortifications are needed. The ascents, 
descents, parallel walks, and view from the summit of the light- 
house which stands on Europa Point, give a series of pros- 
pects in which the beautiful succeeds the picturesque, rises to 
the grand, and culminates in the sublime. Europa Point is but 
five miles north of the most southerly point in the continent of 
Europe, and is one of two headlands which form the Bay of 
Gibraltar, the other being Cabrita Point in Spain. The glory' 
of being the most southerly point belongs to Tarifa Point, for- 
merly an island, but now united to the mainland by a causeway. 

We ascended the lighthouse, and from its summit beheld 
the African coast before us; on the right the Straits, stretch- 
ing away to the Atlantic; on the left the Mediterranean, with 
the mountains of Spain, Tarifa Point, and other headlands ore 
the right; while above us, for more than a thousand feet,, 
towered the rock. The lighthouse is one of the solid structures- 
which the English build. Over its door is this inscription:: 
"Placed by Adelaide, Queen Dowager of Great Britain and 
Ireland, 17 October, 1838." 

Our guide was a native of the rock, who probably had never 
walked four miles in one day, and a score of times intimated as 
much to us, saying that the visitors generally rode, and he 
"could not understand these Americans who always wanted to 
walk." Yet he had too much courage to flinch, and the next 
day was boasting of his exploit — as though the tramp of 
twelve miles was anything more than wholesome exercise. 
Our next tour was directly up the side of the rock, before a 
permit to enter the fortifications had been secured. Lured 
by the charms of the scenery, we proceeded until halted 
by a sentinel, who ordered us to show a pass. The result of 
the interview was that we concluded to retrace our steps. 
While on this tour certain supposed monuments which had at- 
tracted attention were found to be ventilating shafts for a new 
system of sewerage, made necessary by the unhealthfulness of 
the town. The tops of these shafts are five hundred feet 
above the sea level. 

As for monuments, there are none of any beauty on the 
rock. One to General Eliot, another to the Duke of Welling- 
ton, are all that I recall. 



ii2 Travels in Three Continents. 

When Mr. Sprague had secured our permit, we began the 
ascent to examine the fortifications; no slight task, for every 
point " bristles with defensive works and artillery galleries and 
batteries hewn in the solid stone." We ascended first to the 
castle, which dates from 725. It is riddled with shot. The 
master gunner accompanied us through the galleries, excavated 
out of the solid rocks, tunneled in tiers, running along the 
north front, and a mile and a half in length. St. George's 
Hall is fifty feet by thirty-five; in it Nelson was feted. 

From St. George's Hall we went to the "Crow's Nest," a 
ledge pushing out at the extreme north. The six or seven 
hundred feet of rock above us appeared to culminate in an 
overhanging cliff. This is one of the illusions common in 
such situations, and was dissipated when we were informed 
that there is a considerable slope inward. As we stood look- 
ing down more than seven hundred feet, the gunner said that 
the present colonel, who had recently arrived, was unable to 
walk within ten feet of the edge. Below, the town seemed in 
miniature, and the vessels in the bay like mere paintings 
upon the water; the tombs and monuments in the cemetery 
were reduced to glistening white specks, and pedestrians to 
midgets. 

From the highest point the outlook is dazzling, entrancing, 
bewildering. The elements of the panorama are the Straits of 
Gibraltar, and beyond the coast of Morocco, including the 
other Pillar of Hercules, with the fortified town of Ceuta ap- 
parently in its lap; the "Seven Mountains " westward; across 
the bay the town of Algeciras, and the beaches through which 
several rivers which rise in the mountains of Ojen and Castel- 
lar run in a serpentine course to the bay; the fort and the 
creek filled with vessels; ancient towers along the Spanish 
shore; villages in the meadows at the foot of the mountains; 
the coast of the Mediterranean, and the whole of that sea as 
far as the hills that surround Malaga; interlacing mountain 
ranges, and far in the distance the lofty snow-clad summits of 
the Sierra Nevada, which " shelters in its folds that delightful 
and picturesque city [Granada] once the splendid court of the 
Arabs." 

Gibraltar is the only rival I have seen of the North Cape. 



Gibraltar. 



113 



That has the midnight sun ; the boundless, unexplored mys- 
tery of the Arctic Ocean; the silence, solemnity, and severity 
of an uninhabitable promontory which, though enveloped half 
the year in a flood of light, is during the other engulfed in an 
abyss of darkness. But it has no history. It is a type of 
eternity rather than of time. Gibraltar, equally grand as com- 
manding a view of two continents, the scene of pivotal con- 
flicts, and the center of various civilizations, presents to the 
physical eye a spectacle worthy of comparison with any natural 




Defenses of Gibraltar. 

scene, while the mind's eye beholds the adventurous Phoeni- 
cians, pioneers of commerce and discovery, followed by the 
Greeks, the Romans, the Spaniards, the Moors, and the Eng- 
lish, in irregular but well-defined order, so that the rugged 
rock is engraven with invisible hieroglyphics, the records of 
human progress. 

Before our departure we made an excursion on horseback 
to a mountain in Spain, at a distance of twelve miles, known 
as the "Queen of Spain's Chair." During the last im- 



ii4 Travels in Three Continents. 

portant siege she ascended that mountain to behold the en- 
gagement, and declared she would never depart from it until 
the Spanish flag waved once more over Gibraltar. The road 
was along the beach, thence through various villages, and 
finally across unfenced fields to the foot of the mountain, 
which was about a thousand feet in height. The excursion 
became somewhat adventurous as the way lay through a region 
where a number of Spanish cattle were grazing. Some of the 
bulls looked savage, but contented themselves and us with 
merely gazing. From the summit another grand prospect, in- 
cluding the rock itself, a more striking figure than any other 
was commanded. Thence a long descent took us to the vil- 
lage of San Roque, and finally, after a ride of eight hours, just 
before the sundown gun was fired, we passed over the " neutral 
ground " into the town. 

This neutral ground deserves mention. It is a strip of land 
dividing the rock from the mainland. A portion belongs to 
Spain and the rest to England. The English have undermined 
the whole of their part, and have also made arrangements 
so that it could instantly be covered with water. At the bor- 
der a contrast is noticeable between the Spanish and English 
sentries. The Spanish sentinel is somewhat rhetorically de- 
scribed (by an Englishman, of course) as the " burnt-up, black- 
eyed, thin, ill-fed, but picturesque child of the sun, who lazily 
mounts guard side by side with the fair-haired, blue-eyed, and 
prosaic son of fog and rain." 

When Gibraltar first fell into the hands of the English the 
power and uses of steam had not been discovered. Vessels 
were of wood, and as a constant current flows in from the 
Atlantic about two miles and a half ah hour, they could not 
get through the channel without a fair wind. Gibraltar then 
commanded the straits. Now it cannot do so. By no guns 
yet invented can it prevent ships from passing into the Medi- 
terranean, or out into the Atlantic. The question thus arises 
of how much value is it to England, and on this, a practical 
matter, as it costs the government one million dollars annu- 
ally, differences of opinion have arisen. Edmund Burke, who 
spoke before the days of steam, declared it to be a "post of 
power, post of superiority, of communication, of commerce; 



Gibraltar. 



"5 



one which makes us invaluable to our friends, and dreadful to 
our enemies." 

A grave question is whether Gibraltar is impregnable at the 
present time. The English do not so regard it, and are con- 
stantly strengthening the fortifications. At the time that we 
were there extraordinary improvements were being introduced. 
Two new guns of one hundred tons were being placed in posi- 
tion, one on the Alameda, another nearer Europa Point. The 
summit of the rock is also being fortified. At present, should 
an enemy land, there would be no guns to cover him, but ar- 
rangements are being made to supply this defect. Three pits 
thirty feet deep are being dug, one near O'Hara's Tower, 
another near the signal station, and a third near the flagstaff. 
In the lower part of these pits are to be magazines, and above 
revolving guns, which will have a complete circuit of fire, cover 
boats at anchorage, and from their elevation, averaging from 
twelve hundred to thirteen hundred feet, they will command 
the town of Gibraltar. Nine two-inch guns are to be placed 
above Queen's Row, at a height of six hundred feet, running 
the entire length of the rock. 

The impressive feature of the whole situation is the evi- 
dence of the power of England. It is one of the outposts on 
the way to her wide Eastern domain. Here her fleets can be 
sheltered, provisioned, and coaled. Malta and Gyprus, the 
former one of the strongest fortifications in the world, lie at 
convenient distances beyond. When reflecting upon the small 
size and comparatively limited population of Great Britain, I 
felt myself in the presence of a power vaster, taking all the 
forms of influence into the account, than any now existing, 
perhaps than any which has ever existed. Observe the table 
which I had before me: 



United Kingdom 

European Dependencies 

North America 

West Indies and Central America . 

South America 

Africa 

Asia 

Australasia 

Total 



Area, sq. m. 


Population, 1881 


121,135 


34,885,000 


423 


32S,000 


3>5io,6u 


4,520,000 


20,564 


1,244,000 


79.664 


255,000 


565,000 


3,490,000 


1,410,000 


257,467,000 


3-175. S70 


2,914,000 


8,983,267 


305,103,000 



n6 Travels in Three Continents. 

Note how small a proportion the size and population of 
Great Britain and Ireland bear to the whole empire which' ac- 
knowledges Victoria! 

But the time came to depart, and at ten o'clock on Wednes- 
day, January 2, we embarked in a small boat, and rode out 
two miles to the point where our steamer was coaling. As we 
drew near she began to move, and this gave us the most beauti- 
ful starlight ride of five or six miles, until the object of our 
pursuit came to anchor. We were not disturbed, being four 
hours in advance of the advertised time of sailing. The huge 
frowning rock that seemed to rear its head to the stars, 
the thousand lights in the town and barracks, the sparkling 
tapers in the half-score of villages, and colored lanterns upon 
the hundred ships in the bay, the distant mountain peaks, and 
the phosphorescent gleam upon the waters, while carrying 
visual delight to a point of ecstasy, taught us its limitations, 
for we were in a pleasurable pain lest, while looking in one 
direction, another view would be lost. Meanwhile a military 
band was playing upon the esplanade, and clear and sweet 
across the waters came snatches of martial music, rising and 
falling "like bells at evening pealing." Suddenly a flash like 
lightning gleamed on the highest summit of the huge black 
mountain, and the loud boom of the evening gun was heard. 
We were six miles away, and more than thirty seconds elapsed 
before the thunder overtook the lightning. 




TW 



Algeria. 119 



CHAPTER XV. 
Algeria. 

Voyage from Gibraltar to Oran — Description of Oran — Railway Journey to 
Algiers — Its Appearance on Approaching by Night — Jardin des Plantes — 
Old Arab Town — " Marabouts." 

On sailing from Gibraltar for Algeria we were pleased with 
the name of our steamer — the Afrique. But as "the legs of 
the lame are unequal," so is the conclusion of him who hath 
but one premise; for the Afrique is old enough to have had 
the choice of names when the line was established; noisy, 
rickety, literally unstable as water, the voyage of three or four 
days was linked misery long drawn out. 

The Afrique, after bumping day and night, silenced its 
machinery in the alleged harbor of Nemours, the first French 
town on the coast of Africa, only twenty-five miles from the 
frontier of Morocco. The bay is sheltered from all winds ex- 
cept the one from which in that latitude bad weather generally 
comes. It is impossible to get on shore except during fine 
weather. Had it been a little worse, none of the passengers 
for that place could have disembarked, and no cargo could 
have been taken on. We loaded over eight thousand sacks of 
Algerian wheat of an inferior quality, all of which was brought 
off amid raging waves in open boats manned by Moors and 
Negroes. It was a spectacle of unceasing interest to see the 
long line of men with sacks on their shoulders coming down 
among the breakers, filling the boats, and then rowing them 
more than half a mile out to the ship. 

Above the town were the fortifications and the ruins of the 
old Arab settlement. The coast is high, stern, and almost 
inaccessible. There are mines in the neighborhood, and a 
company formerly manufactured and exported much pig iron ; 
but during the insurrection of 1871 the Arabs destroyed the 
machinery. 

Late in the nig-ht we reached Oran. Remainino- on board 



120 Travels in Three Continents. 

till daylight, on disembarking we found a town which, in 
beauty of situation, fine streets, noble public and charming 
private buildings, surpasses most French seaports. It lies on 
the steep slope of a mountain whose summit is crowded with 
fortifications. Rocky capes tower a thousand feet, and prom- 
ontories surmounted by lighthouses project picturesquely 
into the sea. The public buildings are mostly new, and the 
mosques and cathedral are of marble. We rode through the 
entire city, and nowhere were without something to charm 
the eye. The forts on the heights and in the town, some 
at an elevation of above a thousand feet, strike the beholder at 
once as impressive features. The city is surrounded by a 
high wall, with nine gates. Everywhere modern enterprise 
was evident. Many new buildings of remarkable proportions 
were in process of construction. 

For unmingled pleasure commend us to the railway ride 
by day from Oran to Algiers. The thirteen hours, instead 
of fatiguing, exhilarated. Algeria is divided into the Tell 
(the beautiful region between the mountains and the coast 
range), the High Plateaus, and the Desert of Sahara. The 
divisions are caused by the Atlas Mountains, which run fif- 
teen hundred miles from Cape Nun, on the Atlantic, to Cape 
Bon, in Tunis. The Tell is only from fifty to a hundred 
miles in width, and in the province of Oran it does not aver- 
age sixty. 

The railway runs through the very heart of this expanse 
of undulating land, where crops can be cultivated success- 
fully through the year, and the traveler may see oranges 
in bloom, and at the same time countless groves filled with 
ripe fruit. The almond with its beautiful blossoms resembles 
a cherry tree in bloom. Along the shore are low hills, between 
which we caught glimpses of the sea; while fifty miles inland 
rise the loftier mountains. The country is without fences, and 
the roads are smooth and hard as granite. We were never out 
of sight of native cottages, establishments of landed proprie- 
tors, charming villages, and picturesque Arabs laboring in the 
fields, donkeys laden with vegetables, processions of Arabs 
on foot intermingling freely with the French. The French 
are the aristocrats of this whole region, and when employed 



Algeria. 121 

for menial work they often become drunkards. In subordi- 
nate capacities they are found unreliable. 

Algiers, when approached by night, presents the appearance 
of the milky way. Its shops being gayly lighted, and the 
principal streets arcaded, a confused mellow light which only 
yields distant points to the vision when the eye is concen- 
trated, gives the spectator a sensation with which only the 
stolid would fail to be pleased. On coming nearer, it was 
difficult to distinguish the sky from the earth; for the high 
hills upon the side of which Algiers is built sparkled with 
lights radiating from the Moorish and other villas which oc- 
cupy them. 

A long walk to the Jardin des Plantes made us familiar with 
the general aspects of the city, revealing a landscape contain- 
ing all the elements of natural beauty; the sea in agitation be- 
yond, calm as a lake on a summer evening within the bay; 
afar ermine mountains ; nearer vine and forest covered hills, 
and every variety of tree and flower artistically arranged in 
spacious avenues adorned with fountains. At no great dis- 
tance appeared the city, and upon the slopes the villas and 
gardens of the wealthy French, English, and Scotch, who winter 
there, and of prosperous merchants of Algiers who have sub- 
urban residences. In the Jardin grow magnolias, india rub- 
ber, fig, orange, lemon, bamboo, palm, dwarf palm, banana, 
cork, olive, and eucalyptus trees, together with the acacias 
casuarz'm's, imported from Australia. 

The old Arab town gives a more favorable impression than 
that made by Tangier. It is on a steep hillside, the houses are 
white, the streets only five or six feet wide, and so crooked 
that no carriages can pass through them. They are connected 
by alleys, some of them less than two feet wide. The roofs 
lean toward each other, sometimes leaving not more than 
twelve inches for the sunlight to enter. Yet there is a con- 
stant draught of air, the slope keeps them clean, and they are 
sweeter than many wide streets in European cities. 

It is impossible to obtain access to the interior of a Moor's 
house of the better class. Residents told us that the wealth- 
ier Moors, avoiding studiously everything like external display, 
carry internal elegance and picturesqueness to the highest pos- 



122 Travels in Three Continents. 

sible point. No Moorish woman of high rank is ever seen 
alone in the street. The description given to us of the in- 
terior of the best Moorish houses is fascinating. The outer 
door opens into the vestibule, on each side of which is a stone 
bench divided into stalls by marble columns. Above is the 
arch. The master here receives his male friends. Then 
comes the open court, paved with marble or tiles, having an 
arcade all around. Here the important domestic festivities, 
such as marriage and circumcision, are held. Around it are 
kitchens, storehouses, baths. The private rooms are above. 
The houses rise one above another, and each has a flat terrace. 

In some respects the palace of the archbishop is as interest- 
ing a building as Algiers contains. It and the Cathedral of 
St. Philip, built on the site of the Mosque of Hassan, exhibit to 
excellent advantage the present condition of Roman Catholi- 
cism in Algiers. The archiepiscopal palace is of Moorish 
origin, modified to suit modern purposes. 

A remarkable tomb is shown containing the body of an 
Arab, named Geronimo, who accepted Christianity at the age 
of twenty-five years, having been baptized as an infant. Being 
captured four years after his formal acceptance of Christianity, 
and refusing to recant, while yet alive, his feet and hands hav- 
ing been bound with cords, he was covered with fresh con- 
crete, after which the block thus formed was properly shaped 
and built into an angle of the wall. The place was carefully 
recorded, and in 1853, three hundred years afterward, it was 
necessary to destroy the fort, and in the very spot the skeleton 
was found inclosed in the block. The bones were interred in 
the cathedral. Liquid plaster of Paris was then run into the 
cavity and a model obtained showing his very features and the 
marks of the cords that bound him. 

The so-called new mosque is probably two hundred years of 
age, and a legend says that the Italian architect who built it 
was put to death by the Arabs because he had constructed it in 
the form of a Greek cross. But the Grand Mosque is far. more 
impressive, and is the most ancient in the country, dating 
from the eleventh century. To this day a part of it is used 
as a court of justice, and we saw the cadi engaged in the 
transaction of business. 



^m 



■> 



•9^ 










Moorish Woman in Street Costume. 



Algeria. 



I2 5 



On and near the tomb of Sidi Abd-er-Rahman-eth-Thalebi 
perpetual lamps burn, and the richest silk drapery is hung. 
All about are banners, eggs of ostriches, and other gifts. 
Next to the Grand Mosque it is the most ancient religious 
building in Algeria. We visited the tombs of several " mara- 
bouts." These are saints, and such visits, if made in faith, 
are supposed to heal diseases, ward off ill luck, and do many 
other things which the Catholics claim are accomplished by 
their pilgrimages, and professional Protestant "faith healers" 
by their operations. 

Some of the living "marabouts" we saw. Most of them 
are insane; and the Mohammedans, like many of the inhab- 
itants of Russia, believe that a person who has lost his senses 
is visited by God, with whom he holds converse. This gives 
wide scope for impostors, many of whom feign madness. An 
old fellow of this sort we found engaged in fulminating bitter 
imprecations against some one. A friend, who translated the 
Arabic for us, said that probably he was paid to do it. We 
heard much of the fanatic religious ceremonies of the Ais- 
saoui, which consist of the beating of drums and other in- 
struments, after which one of the order, claiming inspiration, 
rushes with a wild howl into a ring and begins to dance, joined 
by others who continue until they fall exhausted or are stopped 
by the head of the order. After this they sear themselves 
with a red-hot iron, eat live scorpions and serpents, chew 
broken glass, and appear insensible to pain. The head of the 
order, with a keen eye to business, offered to get up a per- 
formance for us for forty-five francs. Having no difficulty in 
understanding how all that they really do could be done with- 
out supernatural aid, we declined the tolerably cheap offer. 

Those ancient sacrificial rites performed on the seashore, in 
which Negroes, degenerate Jews, and Mohammedans partic- 
ipated in slaughtering fowls and lambs, burning incense, and 
smearing themselves with blood in order to cure diseases and 
obtain prosperity, have disappeared under the influence of 
European civilization. We saw some who still perform in secret 
places, and thus passed from mosque, synagogue, and church 
to the darkest heathenism and superstition. 



126 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
Algiers and the Atlas Mountains. 

The Black Virgin — Strange Ceremony — Interview with a Moor — Algerine 
Pirates — Arab Cemetery — Bearded Priests — Power of the Jews — Sir Peter 
Coates — Tour to the Atlas Mountains — French Engineering — Apes — Wild 
Animals. 

Ascending the height, a peak of Mount Bon-Zarea, upon 
which stands the Catholic Church of Notre Dame d'Afrique, 
we enjoyed a splendid view of the sea and city. The Virgin 
Mary has been subjected to remarkable artistic treatment. 
Here we found her one of the blackest of Negroes. In most 
other cities she is as white as the fairest lily. The legend 
runs that the Virgin appeared to some native of Africa in the 
form of a tall black woman. This inscription surrounds the 
altar: "Notre Dame d'Afrique, priez pour nous et pour les 
Mussulmans " — (Our Lady of Africa, pray for us and for the 
Moslems). 

The place is famous for a ceremony which is said to have no 
parallel. It is performed every Sunday afternoon, after ves- 
pers: the clergy chant the usual prayers for the dead, then go 
in procession to a point which overhangs the sea, and over that 
greatest of sepulchers perform the ceremonies which the Roman 
Catholic Church appoints for ordinary funerals. A fine monu- 
ment has been erected, on which is an inscription of which the 
following is a translation: 

S. Em. C. Cardinal Charles Martial Allemand-Lavigerie, 

Archbishop of Algiers and of Carthage, Primate of Africa, 

has been kind enough to accord in perpetuity 

one hundred days of indulgence to all those who will recite here one 

pater and one ave 
for the sailors who have perished on the sea, or those who find them- 
selves in peril of death. 
The Pope, Leo Xlllth, has accorded full indulgence to those who 
will recite these prayers on Sunday. 



Algiers and the Atlas Mountains. 127 

From this point we took a walk of nine miles, ascending to 
the loftiest summit in the vicinity of Algiers. The route was 
by an old, disused Arab road. 

After we had been walking three quarters of an hour, ab- 
sorbed in the enchanting prospects, a formidable voice was 
heard demanding in the French language where we were 
going. It came from the mouth of a Moor of distinguished 
appearance, apparently sixty-five years of age, who stood in 
front of a fine old Moorish mansion. Our guide informed him 
that we were ascending to the observatory. He responded: 
" I have bought the property and broken up the road. You 
must go back." 

Perceiving from the excellence of his French that he was an 
educated man, we began to use blandishments, informed him 
that we were Americans, would not have presumed to trespass 
upon the property had we not supposed that the road was 
open, whereupon his bronze features relaxed into a smile that 
lighted up his countenance like warm sunshine on a winter 
day. He allowed us to pass, taking pains, however, to send us 
by a path which led us as far as possible from the house. 

We ascended to the point of observation whence in old times 
the piratical Algerines scrutinized the sea for merchant vessels 
traversing the Mediterranean. Nor were those times so very 
long since. Less than a hundred years ago Algiers was the 
terror of the civilized world. European powers obeyed the 
orders of the Dey, who exacted annual tributes from all con- 
suls, and, whenever he needed money, declared war on some 
commercial nation. Spain, Holland, Venice, Denmark, Portu- 
gal, and Naples were obliged to purchase peace, and the United 
States, in 1795, had to do the same, at a cost of seven hundred 
and twenty-one thousand dollars, and the further agreement 
to pay a tribute annually of twenty-two thousand dollars. 

Immediately after the revolution Algiers declared war on 
the United States. In a few years it captured thirteen prizes 
and made slaves of more than a hundred American citizens. 
It was after this that the price just mentioned was paid, 
partly as a ransom for these captives, and partly in presents. 
In 181 2 it again declared war against the United States, and 
began to capture vessels, when the President begged the Dey 



128 Travels in Three Continents. 

to negotiate another ransom. He refused, affirming that "he 
considered American slaves as beyond price." In May, 1815, 
the United States sent a squadron to Algiers to demand a 
modification of all treaties. Captains Decatur and Bain- 
bridge happened to arrive when the Algerian vessels were 
away, and secured what was demanded. 

Two years later Great Britain compelled the Dey to abolish 
Christian slavery forever, to liberate all slaves then in his 
dominion, and to restore all money received by him for the 
redemption of slaves, the result of which was the liberation of 
three thousand and three European Christians. But the old 
spirit was there, and not till the French conquered Algeria 
was this organized piracy brought to an end. 

Here were we in sight of the port whence they sailed, and of 
the estates built by the produce of their piracy. From this 
elevated view point they could see more than sixty miles, and 
with their trained eyes probably eighty. Their faster cruisers 
were always in readiness, and woe to the unsuspecting mer- 
chant vessel becalmed upon the Mediterranean off Algiers, 
where expert rowers, in the darkness of the night, could sally 
forth, plunder, kill, or enslave. 

A thousand feet above the sea stands the observatory, in a 
translucent atmosphere, and at a height most favorably situ- 
ated to scour the heavens. 

We climbed still higher to Bon-Zarea. This is a small 
European settlement, but the native village, about two thirds 
of a mile to the left, was the object of interest to us. There, 
in inclosures of prickly pears of size, are several " &oudbas" 
(tombs of saints), the most noted of which is that of Sidi 
Naaman, of alleged miraculous powers. This place is dis- 
tinguished for dwarf palms of such extraordinary height as to 
make a difficult problem for botanists. The apex of the 
elevation is occupied by an Arab cemetery. The stones, 
masonry, and monuments, almost hidden beneath old trees, 
vines, and shrubs, present a picture of crystallized antiquity. 

Thence in a walk of six miles we returned by a longer but 
level winding road to the suburb of Bab-el-Oued. The French 
Alpine Club had shortened our journey by constructing a steep 
but not difficult footpath down the mountain side. 



Algiers and the Atlas Mountains. 129 

Struck with the beards worn by the priests in the Roman 
Catholic churches, streets, and funeral processions, we found 
that, as among Arabs the beard is the sign of manhood (the 
Arab swearing by the beard), the Roman Catholic Church 
compels its priests in Africa to wear them. If they are trans- 
ferred from France to Algeria, they cannot shave; if they 
return permanently to France, they must do so. Noticing 
years ago in the paintings of bishops and priests in the galler- 
ies of Europe that they were often represented with beards, 1 
asked a priest how the requirement, that priests should wear 
shaven faces, originated. He frankly replied that he could 
not state; that some claimed it was an order issued by a pope 
who could not raise a beard. Be that as it may, the rule is 
relaxed by dispensation in special cases, and entirely where the 
Church can gain influence by it. 

One of the fortifications now commanding the town was 
built by the Moors on the spot where Charles V had his camp 
during his unsuccessful assault upon Algiers. Here the 
French general received the capitulation of the Dey. Many 
are the traditions exhibiting the bloodthirsty spirit of those 
despotic rulers. Once the Dey returning looked at the wall 
where executions took place, and saying, ''That wall is 
hungry," ordered that every prisoner except such as he chose 
to favor should be executed for his amusement the next morn- 
ing. 

The Jews are powerful in Algeria, both in Oran and Al- 
giers, owning the best building sites and buildings, keeping 
the largest shops and stores, and making the bulk of the pop- 
ulation tributary to them. In Oran the Moors hate them so 
that, if the French troops were withdrawn, they would prob- 
ably make short work with them. Many are men of the 
greatest financial and general ability, and some of high char- 
acter. 

I have already spoken of the villas purchased from the 
Moors or erected in the Moorish style by foreigners who 
escape the rigors of severe climes by spending the winters in 
Algiers. Among these one of the most beautiful is that occu- 
pied by Sir Peter Coates, a name carried all over the world on 
spools of thread. 



130 Travels in Three Continents. 

To Sir Peter I had a letter of introduction from his old 
friend, Dr. William M. Taylor, of the Broadway Tabernacle. 
On presenting it I was received as though a relative of the 
family, and every courtesy exhibited. It was not the privi- 
lege of seeing the interior of so fine a residence, nor of 
gazing upon a prospect of surpassing loveliness, nor of wit- 
nessing the perfection of detail and the happy combination of 
beauty and utility in all the arrangements, nor the luxuriant 
growth of vegetation of nature left to itself, or where its pro- 
fusion is trained and pruned by art, that we most highly es- 
teemed — one need not leave the United States to enjoy these 
things — but such, honest, downright, bounteous, Scotch, Chris- 
tian hospitality. Sir Peter, though just past his eightieth 
year, was full of vivacity. His munificence in the support of 
education, philanthropy, and in promoting public welfare in 
other ways, led to his being knighted by the queen. Conver- 
sation of the host and the younger members of the family and 
visitors left upon the travelers, who sat at his table during the 
long winter (summer) evening, a permanent sense of delight. 
His death was announced while this volume was being prepared. 

The long chain of the Atlas Mountains, much of which is 
an almost unknown territory to civilized nations, in Algeria 
approaches the coast, is within the range of French adminis- 
tration, and accessible to pedestrians or travelers on horseback 
or by diligence. Our course for thirty miles was through 
a fertile, charming part of the Tell country to Blidah. As we 
approached that place — a military station in the time of the 
Romans, destroyed by an earthquake in 1825, but soon rebuilt 
— we came to a succession of gardens, traversed shady roads, 
and passed a sacred grove of the Arabs, entering the town 
between orange groves where the trees were borne almost to 
earth by the abundance of fruit. 

Blidah is beautifully situated at the foot of the first slopes of 
the Atlas Mountains. Their here dark and there snow-clad 
forms send long shadows across the town, while the verdant 
plain stretches away to the hills along the coast. Procuring 
horses, we began the journey into the mountains. The cold, 
stimulating breeze from the snowy peaks, shaded valleys, and 
steep ravines, reminded us more of an American winter day 



Algiers and the Atlas Mountains. 133 

than anything previously experienced in Africa. Upon the 
hillsides tombs of "marabouts," often inclosed in consecrated 
houses of prayer, white as snow; the flanks of the Atlas splen- 
didly covered with cedars; barren rocky ridges, too precipitous 
for earth or trees; distant isolated peaks, fortified hills, and 
pastoral landscapes diversified with roads, irrigating streams, 
and small rivers, filled the eye with light and beauty. 

We were in the vicinity of ancient Numidia, and saw above 
the horizon a building whose construction is attributed to a 
Numidian queen. Numidia, generally speaking, is held to 
correspond to a part of the neighboring French province of 
Constantine. The ancient inhabitants were the Berbers, 
divided into Kabyles and the Chawia; and Arabs, divided 
into Moors and Bedouins. The Kabyles and the Arabs, though 
both Mohammedan, have always been intensely hostile, and 
often in fierce conflict. The Arabs prevailed and drove the 
Kabyles into the mountain fastnesses and higher table-lands, 
where they maintained their independence until recently. In 
many customs they differ from the Arabs. Their habits are 
regular, and they are excellent farmers, nor do they cover 
the faces of their women, who have a better reputation than 
Moorish women of the same classes, notwithstanding that 
supposed protection. 

On entering the gorge of the Chiffa, a stupendous chasm in 
the mountains extending ten miles, we were met by the little 
river Chiffa, which came dancing down the hillsides out into 
the plain, like a schoolgirl escaped after a long penance at the 
desk. To the right towered Djebel Mouzaia, between five and 
six thousand feet high. The French road, built by military 
engineers, may be styled a perfect achievement of road 
engineering. It is blasted out of the solid rock for almost the 
entire distance, often carried along the face of the cliff, pro- 
tected by thick stone Avails, and in some parts built in the bed 
of the stream. The work was done by soldiers in the early 
days of the capture of Algeria by the French, while the 
Kabyles were on the higher summits rolling stones upon them. 
The French army beat back the hardy mountaineers, and made 
a road through this tremendous gorge finer than any to be 
found in Central Park. 



134 Travels in Three Continents. 

The farther we penetrated, the more striking became the 
scenery. It has been complained by some that snow moun- 
tains and glaciers, such as are seen in Switzerland, are absent 
from the Atlas range. There was no lack of snowy summits 
in January. At first the sides of the gorge were covered with 
trees, except where there were precipices several hundred feet 
in height, over which small streams ran in a kind of spray, 
swollen by the recent rains and the melting snows; but, as we 
ascended, glimpses of heights above the line of vegetation gave 
us the true mountain horizon. 

At one point there is a steep path leading up the mountain 
side to a garden. Here a futile attempt was made to cul- 
tivate coffee and other exotics. We climbed the path until, 
owing to its precipitousness and dampness, it became danger- 
ous, one of the party being struck by a falling stone, which 
needed only a little greater momentum or a sharper edge to 
have cut short the journey and sent the traveler home a crip- 
ple for life. 

These mountains abound with apes, which often amuse 
themselves by pelting the passer with stones. Notwithstand- 
ing the engineering operations which have been going on for a 
long time, they still appear, leaping from branch to branch of 
the wild olive trees and the junipers, breaking off the branches 
of the fruit trees and screaming at their play, or in their 
humanlike struggles for the largest apples or pears. They 
have a mania, too, for tearing off beautiful ferns and flowers. 
The morning that we looked for them they were somewhat 
shy owing to the cold weather, so that we saw only one or two, 
and they were a considerable distance away. 

The inhabitants of the Kabylean Mountains, in their opin- 
ions of monkeys, reverse the Darwinian theory. When 
their depredations are serious the natives will drive them 
away, but hesitate to kill them, believing them descended 
from men who, having incurred the anger of God, were de- 
prived of speech. 

To catch monkeys the natives prepare a jar containing nuts, 
almonds, and such things as they like, which they close, leav- 
ing a hole only large enough to admit a monkey's open hand. 
He seizes some of the contents and tries to draw his hand out. 



Algiers and the Atlas Mountains. 135 

It never occurs to him to open his fist, and there he stays un- 
able to escape with the heavy jar. 

A walk of several miles, inspecting the railroad then build- 
ing — for the French, not content with the construction of the 
highway above described, were achieving a feat of engineering 
still more remarkable — revealed a scene as impressive as the 
natural phenomena. Here masses of mountains were being 
blasted, excavations made at isolated points preliminary to 
further operations, and tunnels two hundred and fifty to five 
hundred feet above the line of others were being bored, showing 
that the road must be carried between the two. Far above 
these the surveyors' signals and flags could be seen, the whole 
seeming "confusion worse confounded ;" but to the engineer's 
eye it was harmonious. 

These mountains, and indeed all the less settled parts of 
Algeria, formerly abounded with wild animals. Between 1873 
and 1884 one hundred and eighty-two lions and lionesses and 
seventeen whelps were killed; one thousand and ninety-five 
panthers, and one hundred and nineteen young panthers; one 
thousand eight hundred and eighty-two hyenas; twenty-seven 
thousand one hundred and eighty-five jackals. Bounties were 
paid upon these — for every lion, eight dollars; a panther, the 
same; for a hyena, three dollars; and a jackal, a half dollar. 
The number of wild animals has greatly diminished, lions being 
now very scarce. 

Here I saw engineers with surveying instruments; the con- 
tractor, with his gangs of men; wood workers; blasters, pre- 
paring explosives and fuses; "hewers of wood and drawers 
of water," stonecutters, and common laborers, government 
officers, and soldiers, huts for the accommodation of the work- 
men at night, restaurants, and feeding troughs for men and 
animals. Here were the Kabyles at work, a few Moors, with 
Negroes from the Soudan, Italians, Germans, Maltese, some 
Spaniards, many Frenchmen; but no Americans or English- 
men. A constant procession was passing over the highway, of 
six, eight, ten mule teams of goods-wagons that, except for 
some slight differences in construction, might have led us to 
fancy ourselves west of the Mississippi in the days before the 
Pacific Railroad; hundreds of muleteers with loads for the rail- 



136 Travels in Three Continents. 

road station, twelve or fifteen miles distant; Kabyle men and 
women — it was a scene both oriental and occidental — Asiatic, 
African, and European. 

Not as many thousand miles to the south and east in the 
Dark Continent as we had traveled to reach the splendid views 
which filled our eyes, we hear of dazzling snow peaks suspended 
in the heavens; black gulfs of volcanic craters a mile wide; 
countless cascades of mountain torrents; violet-gray sierras; 
" the shimmering azure of the hill-encircled lakes; " salt plains 
whiter than snow and sparkling with myriad crystals; "marshes 
which are the habitat of pink flamingoes, white egrets, gray 
pelicans, and 'the Hagedash ibis, which is a walking rainbow; ' 
the luxuriant greenness of the tropical forests, with their vel- 
vet-foliaged albizzias, their stately sterculias, ... a kaleido- 
scopic mingling of the sublime, the awful, the vast, the luxu- 
riant, and the tenderly beautiful." 

While nothing equal to this was seen by us in northern and 
western Africa, views of the luxuriant, the tenderly beautiful, 
and glimpses of the grand were afforded. 



Marseilles and the French Riviera. 137 



CHAPTER XVII. 
Marseilles and the French Riviera. 

Harbor — Cathedral — Church of Notre Dame de la Garde — Cannes — Nice — 
Monaco and Monte Carlo — Tragic Incidents — Mentone — Mr. Spurgeon. 

The city of Algiers is five hundred miles nearly due south 
from Marseilles, which is the most important seaport of France, 
a large part of its business being done with the French pos- 
sessions in Africa. We made the passage in the Ville de 
Naples, in a violent storm which reduced the cabin to a hospital 
and the dining saloon to a solitude; yet Marseilles was reached 
in thirty-two hours. 

In approaching, by sea, a large city in a moonless, misty 
night, there is something weird. We glided apparently among 
gigantic specters of ships, hearing now and then a splash or a 
voice, and the boats that came out to us from the shore ap- 
peared more like huge fish than machines of human con- 
trivance. 

The conspicuous feature of Marseilles is the harbor, which 
has been enlarged to four times its former size within the last 
forty years, and is yet too small. Next in interest are the 
streets, many of which are fine and wide. The quarter 
scourged by the cholera a few years ago showed no traces of 
what makes even the name a terror. Density of population, 
lowness of situation, and heat of climate account for the rav- 
ages of the pestilence. A reminder of one of the most terrible 
plagues of all history is seen in the Cours Belzance, in which 
stands a statue of the bishop after whom the place is named, 
who faithfully discharged his duty, visiting the sick and 
burying the dead during the pestilence in 1720, which carried 
off forty thousand persons. 

Marseilles is proud of its new cathedral, which, however, is 
not equal to some of the ancient ecclesiastical structures of 
Europe. On Sunday the streets were filled, and all kinds of 
outdoor amusements, and business of every sort that appeals 



138 Travels in Three Continents. 

to the people on a holiday, were openly and generally pros- 
ecuted. Processions with bands of music paraded, and the 
whole city appeared to be abroad. 

The Church of Notre Dame de la Garde, on a lofty emi- 
nence near the sea, transcends the cathedral in interest. The 
tower is very high, and its summit commands a spectacle 
which remains one of the landmarks in memory. Almost 
perpendicularly beneath is the old harbor; beyond is the city 
filling the valley; above rise the hills, their dark sides dotted 
with the white villas of merchants and other residents of Mar- 
seilles. Following the horizon, the Mediterranean is seen in 
the distance, while nearer is a group of fortified islands, upon 
one of which is the Chateau d' If. This recalls the startling 
scene in the stormy period of the first French Revolution, 
when Mirabeau was incarcerated in that inaccessible fortress. 
But a much stronger impression was made upon my mind 
by the reference to it in the Count of Monte Crista, a book 
which kept me awake all night when a child, and was almost 
equally fascinating at a later period when common sense 
might have been expected to revolt from the improbable. 
Happening to hear a band play the Marseillaise, which so re- 
cently we had heard sung by the fifty thousand Frenchmen 
who celebrated the anniversary of the execution of Baudin, 
I was reminded that it was for the galley slaves who were sent 
to Paris in 1792 that that stirring piece was composed. 

On leaving Marseilles our course was southward, and the 
first point at which we left the train was Nice, distant seven 
hours by rail. Toulon, which suffered from the cholera 
scourge even more severely than Marseilles, is a war rendez- 
vous of France for the Mediterranean ; it has two harbors, pro- 
tected by eleven forts, which, being upon adjacent heights, 
produce a fine effect. 

St. Raphael is romantically situated, and its name is familiar 
to readers of French history, for it was from that port Napo- 
leon embarked, April 28, 1814, for Elba, after his compulsory 
abdication. 

Cannes has a most picturesque situation. This is not a 
place for a day, but "for the season." It owes its popularity 
greatly to Lord Brougham. He visited it for several years, 



Marseilles and the French Riviera. 139 

sounded its praises, and died there. As we passed I 
strained my eyes to get a glimpse of Fort Monterey. This 
has been famous for two hundred years. "The Man with 
the Iron Mask " was confined therein from 1686 to 1698, and 
it was to Cannes that Marshal Bazaine was sent after he 
surrendered Metz, and remained until he escaped August 

9, l8 74- 

Nice is one of the comparatively few celebrated places where 
the enthusiastic praises of its habitues are sustained by the 
facts. We stayed long enough to admire its scenic charms, 
to breathe its pure air, and see something of its social life. 
It is a town of hotels and pensions, of immense gardens and 
suburban villas. The first thing that caught my eye was an 
avenue of eucalypti, with which we had become familiar in 
Spain and Algiers. The public garden, and the Promenade 
des Anglais, with hotels and villas crowded with visitors, 
enlivened with military music and frequent parades, are not 
surpassed. But the greatest charm is Castle Hill. Its sides 
are ornamented with palms, oranges, cypresses, aloes, and 
many other varieties of trees, through which a fine carriage 
road winds, crossed at intervals by a footpath, which admits 
of ascending to the summit in twenty minutes. An artifi- 
cial waterfall is at the top. A series of paintings by the 
finest artists, exhibited in the form of a panorama, could 
hardly portray the beauty of the outlook ; what, then, can 
be expected of a single paragraph? The most distant view 
is the Alps ; turning sharply around to the south is the 
Mediterranean; to the west are the long lines of the coast, 
with various promontories, and the mouth of the little river 
Varm, which was the boundary between France and Sardinia 
down to i860. Nearer, Nice and the beautiful towns and 
villages, and wooded heights which surround them, appear; 
but on the south the hill on which we stand descends ab- 
ruptly toward the sea. It has a peculiar name, which serves 
as a warning, Rauba Capen (the hat robber), since gusts 
arise there on short notice. Nice has for Frenchmen of a 
radical type an attraction in the grave of Gambetta. The 
ruins of the castle which gives the hill its name are of interest 
to visitors. 



140 Travels in Three Continents. 

The season was fairly opened when we were there. The 
brilliant equipages of French and English annual visitors, the 
multitude of transient guests, and the lively motions and 
active, eager look of the shopkeepers and other caterers to 
the foreign influx, with the balmy atmosphere, which gave a 
breath of summer or late spring to those who had fled from 
vigorous northern winters, imparted that delightful stimulus 
which distinguishes a living from a dead place. 

The little principality of Monaco, beautiful, fashionable, 
disreputable, the smallest, and by some claimed to be the 
oldest monarchy in Europe, is scarcely ten miles from Nice. 
Its entire territory includes but three or four square miles, and 
its permanent population is not so great as that of a large vil- 
lage. The government belongs to the princes of the house of 
Grimaldi, though it is practically in the hands of France, 
which purchased it from Sardinia. 

Monte Carlo is much better known than Monaco. No 
region is more picturesque than the entire territory. Sea, 
land, and sky are at their best, and modern lavish expendi- 
tures by man, blending with remains of the antique, improve 
the picture. In the seasons all classes of society except the 
very poor visit Monte Carlo, and it has two seasons — winter 
for climate and summer for sea bathing. In ancient times 
Monaco was occupied by Saracen freebooters, who by piracy 
accumulated great wealth. At present its revenues are derived 
from another form of villainy, in which seductive persuasions 
take the place of violence. But the end sought is the same. 
Gambling at Monte Carlo supports the government. The 
privilege of keeping a public gambling house is rented to a 
company, which pays sixty thousand pounds per annum for 
the privilege. 

The Casino is a splendid edifice, surrounded by grounds 
equal to those of any palace. Everything in and about the 
building is luxurious. The finest painters have lent their skill 
to the decoration of the concert hall. Statues of Dancing and 
Music, landscapes, figures of Homer and Poetry, are there, 
some of them superior to most modern works of art in the 
celebrated galleries. Concerts are given twice daily from the 
beginning of the winter season. Sixty thousand dollars are 



Marseilles and the French Riviera. 141 

annually paid for the band, the leader of which receives ten 
thousand. Admission to the building and to the concerts is 
free to all who apply for a card of admission. This lavish 
outlay is sustained by the profits on gambling. To represent 
truly the spirit of the place there should be added a statue of 
Satan as an Angel of Light. The largest room in the build- 
ing is the gambling hall. Here is no secrecy, for the business 
is legal. It is the boast of the institution that everything is 
done with a strict regard to honesty. The games played do 
not admit of skill; it is a question of chance. 

Young girls, strangely animated, may be seen seated by 
the side of aged women whose faces wear the pallor of death, 
and whose eyes, intent upon the money they put down and 
the turn of the wheel, wear a spectral look. "Professionals" 
conceal their emotions whether they lose or gain; not so 
amateurs who have lost more than they can afford. The 
vast profits of the proprietors are made by a gain, on an aver- 
age, of three per cent per day on the money staked. As that 
has been known to pass a million of dollars, the total is 
enormous. 

While we were there a young couple came to Monte Carlo 
on their wedding tour. They were fascinated, began to play, 
lost all they had, and poisoned themselves at the hotel. 

A strange enchantment often makes havoc of principle, rep- 
utation, and resolution. A Scotch Presbyterian minister, 
accompanied by his wife, entered. After looking a while he 
began to debate putting down money. His wife tried to dis- 
suade him. Finally he said he would put down a piece, but 
would not take away the result. He did and won, then left 
the money on the number and won again, putting in his pos- 
session by the law of increase, shown by the numbers, proba- 
bly more than he had possessed at one time in his life. He 
took it and went away. 

An authentic story was told us of an American minister who 
was intrusted with the care of a young man of wealth. When 
they reached Monte Carlo the minister advised the young man 
not to visit the gambling house, and, to induce him not to do 
so, said that he would not go if the young man would not. To 
this they agreed. Two hours afterward the young man's reso- 



142 Travels in Three Continents. 

lution failed him, and entering, the first person he met was 
the minister! To this day he justly denounces him as a hypo- 
crite. A Roman Catholic bishop, ordered to that region by 
his physician on account of obstinate ill health, said to me in 
Monte Carlo that the description of it, as "Hell in the midst 
of Paradise," was not overdrawn. Special trains suiting the 
hours are run from neighboring resorts. Though thousands 
go to Monte Carlo, not primarily for gambling, but for health, 
no place in the world is so dangerous to the morals of young 
persons, none better adapted to undermine conscience. Covet- 
ousness, fashion, the peculiar fascination of chance, and per- 
sonal vanity, which often desires to show that it dare do these 
things, unite in one often overpowering temptation. 

A few miles distant is Mentone. It formerly belonged to 
Monaco, then to Sardinia, by which it was annexed to France 
in i860. In contrast with Monte Carlo it is another world, 
the most quiet and restful of retreats. We took a long moon- 
light walk along the seacoast, passing villas and precipices, 
until the line of lights ceased, and then entered a dark recess, 
in traversing which we crossed the Italian frontier. The moon- 
light caused the surface of the Mediterranean to resemble a 
polished mirror, and the effect of the same rays upon the hill- 
sides was weird. This was Mr. Spurgeon's favorite resort. 
Driven from the fogs and chills of London by gout, he spent 
three or four months in Mentone every winter. He was there 
at the time of our visit, but had met with a severe accident, 
which confined him to his room for some weeks. His popu- 
larity was great, nor did he perform an act or speak a word 
in his many visits inconsistent with the high standard of moral- 
ity which he preached, or his reputation for unaffected cheer- 
fulness in his intercourse with all classes. 



Genoa and Milan. 143 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
Genoa and Milan. 

Statue of Columbus — Description of City — Cathedral of San Lorenzo — History 
— The Conservatorii — Via di Circonvallazione — Campo Santo — Situation 
of Milan — Cathedral — The Roof — View from the Tower — Church of San 
Ambrogio — Gallery of Victor Emmanuel — Cemetery — Parade Ground — 
Triumphal Arch. 

The Italian Riviera is divided into two parts, the more 
beautiful being that through which we rode. Almost the 
first striking object, after arriving at the station in Genoa, is 
the statue of Christopher Columbus erected in 1862. Among 
the last things we saw in Spain were his manuscripts and 
library in Seville, and here, upon a pedestal surrounded by 
the prows of ships, with the figure of America kneeling at the 
base, we saw his statue. The allegorical figures represented 
in a sitting posture are not unworthy their station. They 
portray Religion, Geography, Strength, and Wisdom, and be- 
tween them are reliefs of scenes from his history. 

Concerning the native place of Columbus the more ancient 
tradition is that he was born just outside of Saint Andrea; but 
a rival claimant is a house in Cogoleto, fifteen and a half miles 
from Genoa. But whatever the exact location, it was undoubt- 
edly in or near Genoa; and there is no dispute about the fact 
that, when he applied to that city for assistance in his projects 
of discovery, he was considered a visionary man, and his appli- 
cation rejected. 

From the water's edge the hills rise five hundred feet and 
form a wide semicircle, and when the city limits have been 
passed they continued to rise to sixteen hundred feet. Stand- 
ing at the water's brink and looking at them, they seemed a 
vast amphitheater, and the ten forts upon the loftiest height 
enhance the effect. The magnificence of the palaces, as semi- 
private structures, is not equaled in any other city in Italy, or 
in the world. The best date from the sixteenth century, and 



144 Travels in Three Continents. 

the contents, including many of the finest works of art, are 
in harmony with their grandeur. Weeks would have been 
required for a thorough visitation of the palaces. Selecting 
the Palazzo Rosso, we gave as much time to it as was at our 
disposal, with the result of being oppressed with the magnifi- 
cence, the size and number of the rooms, and the displav as- 
pect of the whole. 

The Cathedral of San Lorenzo was a decided contrast to any- 
thing which we had seen in France, Spain, or other parts of 
Europe. In richness of decoration it approaches gaudiness. 
Among other curious things is a Gothic inscription declaring 
that Janus, great grandson of Noah, founded Genoa, and that 
another Janus from Troy settled there. We went into the 
chapel of St. John the Baptist, the richest part of the church. 
Until recently women were permitted to go in only once a 
year, because John's death was brought about by a woman. 
They claim to show the body (without the head) of John the 
Baptist. I was interested in this, as there are eighteen heads 
of John exhibited in different parts of the world. Also, 
they have the Sacro Catino. This was supposed to be 
an emerald, but it was taken to Paris, and examination, to- 
gether with the fact that it was broken, showed that it was 
merely glass. For a long time it was venerated by the people 
of Genoa, but their faith has been severely shaken. At differ- 
ent times it has been asserted to be a gift of the Queen of 
Sheba to Solomon; at others, "the dish which held the pas- 
chal lamb at the Passover; while others have maintained that 
it is the vessel in which Joseph of Arimathea received the 
blood from his Redeemer's side." The date of the foundation 
of Genoa is obscured in the mists of its antiquity. But a 
bronze tablet found by a peasant in 1505, and brought into the 
city to be sold for old metal, confirms its ancientness and im- 
portance. It contains an award made A. U. C. 633 by Quin- 
tus Marcus Minutius and Q. F. Rufus, Roman authorities, in 
settling a dispute between the people of Genoa and the Viturii 
who had differed about their boundaries and had appealed to 
the Roman Senate from local decisions. The landmarks are 
set out definitely, and all restrictions and rights plainly specified. 

After various vicissitudes the city has regained its ancient 



Genoa and Milan. 



145 



maritime ascendency, and is now the chief seaport of Italy. 
The people are industrious, energetic, domestic, and their 
morals good — for an Italian seaport. A peculiar class of insti- 
tutions, called conservatorii (of which there are fifteen or 
twenty), is worthy of special description. They are designed 
for women; some are for orphans; others for the children of 
parents unable to support them. Some are schools; others 
Magdalene asylums, to reform abandoned women; and others 
houses of refuge, where unmarried women who have no homes 
can reside on the payment of a small sum, or, if destitute, 
gratuitously. 

The finest of all the drives of Genoa is the Via di Circonval- 
lazione a Monte, a route laid out a few years ago on the hill. It 
begins at a point three hundred and twenty-eight feet above 
the sea level, and after traversing the entire city brings the 
traveler back to the Capucine church, the most sumptuous in 
the place. 

The Genoese are proud of the Campo Santo on the side of 
the mount, twenty minutes' drive beyond the city walls. Here 
the poor are buried in the ground, but the bodies of the 
wealthy are placed in receptacles arranged in galleries. I have 
never seen so gorgeous a burial place. The monuments are 
elaborate, including not only the dead, but the living members 
of the family. Here is the statue of the husband, in an atti- 
tude of profound grief, weeping over the body of his wife, 
both represented life-size. Then the widow and her surviving 
children, all life-size, gazing horror-struck upon the dead 
body of the father and husband. There are exquisite monu- 
ments of little children and of young persons, besides the 
usual number of figurative representations of Poetry, Grief, and 
Resignation. Some of these tombs, with their monuments, are 
represented to have cost a hundred thousand dollars, which 
would mean a much larger sum in a country where marble is 
not indigenous and artists not numerous. 

The simplicity of genuine grief is entirely obscured. A pag- 
eant as ostentatious as any produced on festal days invades the 
silence and solemnity of the city of the dead and transforms it 
into a masquerade. 

Ostentation has ruled in Italy from ancient time, and, 



!^S Travels in Three Continents. 

turning from these costly embodiments of it to the humbler 
burial place of the poor, the same spirit which produced such 
attempts at rivalry assumes still more grotesque forms. Here 
were wooden effigies, numerous trinkets, and photographs of 
the dead — some taken at an early period in the life of the de- 
ceased, others after his death. The contrasts were as wide 
as can be seen in the dress, equipage, and residences of the 
wealthy and of the poor. Among the poor, as among the rich, 
the violations of good taste appear to result from an effort to 
contrive something new. 

The tomb which would most attract the attention of for- 
eigners and probably of patriotic Italians, is that of Mazzini, 
the chief leader of the revolutionary party, who was born in 
Genoa in 1808. It is in a conspicuous part of the cemetery. 
The Genoese also feel an interest in Garibaldi, who, though 
born in Nice, was the son of a native of Genoa. 

Ancient and modern historians unite in saying that the whole 
energy of the Genoese has been concentrated on making 
money. Its influence, though indirect, may not, however, have 
been less than that of other cities upon the development of 
art and scholarship; for no country whose cities are devoted 
exclusively to those things could long afford the means to pro- 
mote them. Agriculture and commerce are at the foundation 
of wealth, scholarship, and art. 

Genoa to-day is what it has always been — a superbly beau- 
tiful city, not the less so because its energies have been chiefly 
devoted to maritime commerce. 

The beautiful but treacherous Mediterranean was soon left 
behind when we departed from Genoa, but for many miles 
backward glances were rewarded by vistas of landscape, 
through which the sea sparkled for an instant and was then 
obscured by cliffs or hills. As we drew near the plain of Lom- 
bardy, of which the district of Milan is the central portion, 
the cold winds swept down from the Alps, and snow, in a few 
moments turning into rain, beat upon the cars. In situation 
Milan is fortunate, its wants being supplied by the pastures 
upon the mountains, the vines, fruit trees, the silk culture of 
the lower declivities, and the corn, wheat, and grass-yielding 
meadows of the plains. The meadows produce almost as 



.^r> 



o 



— .? 



1 




r~ 



Genoa and Milan. 149 

many crops as there are months in the year, and form the 
most thoroughly irrigated district of Europe, where the an- 
cient paths are still the right of the common people. As in 
Spain, the peasant can drive his sheep southward, the law 
allowing him two hundred feet by the side of the road, so here 
the right to conduct water across the property of others is 
recognized. 

To find a city whose population is the same now that it was 
eight centuries ago is unusual. Then it is said to have con- 
tained three hundred thousand inhabitants; eight years ago, 
exclusive of the suburbs, it was estimated to comprise two 
hundred and ninety-five thousand five hundred and forty- 
three. Milan differs from most other Italian cities in the ab- 
sence of ruins, having been totally destroyed in 11 62; five 
years afterward it was rebuilt. 

Though in the latter part of the fifteenth and the beginning 
of the sixteenth century, when Leonardo da Vinci lived there, 
surrounded by eminent pupils, it vied with the other parts of 
Italy in art, that which attracts most tourists now is the cathe- 
dral. The site relatively to the immediate surroundings is not 
well chosen, and the facade so unworthy the general plan that 
it is to be removed. We walked around the building on the out- 
side, nearly a third of a mile, and were impressed with its vast- 
ness, dignity, and beauty. There are only two larger churches 
in Europe — St. Peter's at Rome, and the cathedral at Seville. 
Begun in 1386, it is not yet completed, and it is said that 
some of the incongruities which have been criticised resulted 
from the dissensions and jealousies of the Italian and Northern 
architects. After the works had been at a standstill for nearly 
a hundred years, Napoleon ordered them resumed when he 
made Milan the capital of the kingdom of Italy, and con- 
structed the tower over the dome. 

The impression was deepened as we stood in the "dim 
religious light " within the nave, which is one hundred and 
fifty-five feet high, and placed ourselves in different positions 
among the fifty-two pillars twelve feet in diameter, which, in- 
stead of having capitals, are adorned with canopied niches 
containing statues; or traversed the great expanse of pave- 
ment of mosaics of variegated marbles, and heard the great 
9 



150 Travels in Three Continents. 

organ reverberating through the vault above, it appeared as 
though the wealth, art, music, and formal religion of ages 
were embodied in one colossal personality. 

More detailed examination of the treasures of art did not 
diminish the effect. Here are the tombs of archbishops, bish- 
ops, and canons interspersed with Gothic monuments and 
bronze statues. Upon the walls are fine paintings of Scripture 
scenes. The stained glass of the three choir windows con- 
tain three hundred and fifty vivid representations of events 
from the Scriptures, many being copies of celebrated ancient 
paintings. An altar piece representing Ambrose releasing 
the Emperor Theodosius from ecclesiastical penalties reminded 
us of a significant event in early Christian history. A most 
abhorrent object is a statue of St. Bartholomew, represented 
as flayed, carrying his skin upon his shoulder. The skin looks 
more like hippopotamus hide than the cuticle of a human 
being. The artist considered it superior to anything ac- 
complished by Praxiteles, and says so in an inscription upon 
the statue. 

Before one crucifix I paused in "reverent contemplation." 
It was that which San Carlo Borromeo bore during the plague 
in 1756, when he went about, barefooted, visiting the sick 
and comforting the dying. It was not the crucifix that I 
revered, but the devotion and philanthropy of him who bore 
it, and of the multitudes of his own and other faiths who, in 
such times of trial, elevate the human toward the Divine. The 
tomb of this saint lies below the dome in a subterranean 
chapel. We paid five francs to see his relics. The crown, 
jewels, and regalia which he wore were bright by contrast 
with his fleshless bones. 

The view of, and from, the roof and tower transcended all 
that we had thus far seen in splendor of effect; for another 
such roof the wide world cannot exhibit. Among its adorn- 
ments are ninety-eight Gothic turrets, any one of which would 
make a church in an American city a marked object. Among 
these are distributed more than two thousand marble statues, 
many of eminent men, and as works of art worthy of 
any gallery. Here is the figure of Napoleon, in heroic and 
ancient costume. On a perfectly safe path we walked the 




Interior of Cathedral. 



Genoa and Milan. 



153 



entire length of the roof, and contemplated such of the 
statues as interested us. We had already ascended one hun- 
dred and ninety-four steps within the edifice, and then began 
the three hundred steps outside. 

When the summit was reached the prospect was dazzling. 
We looked upon the roof, upon the buildings surrounding the 
cathedral, dwarfed by its massiveness into huts; upon the 
pygmies walking in the squares. The roar of the city was 
like that upon the ocean shore. A little beyond lay the noble 
city of Milan, upon a plateau nearly four hundred feet above 
the level of the sea, and gradually sloping for miles. The 
entire plain, being covered with snow, sparkled and flashed 
in the sunlight with blinding effect. But it was on looking 
toward the Alps, from sixty to one hundred miles distant, 
that we could scarcely believe our eyes. A little south of 
west, Mont Cenis, through which the great tunnel was cut, ap- 
pears; then Mont Blanc, 

"... the monarch of mountains ; 
They crowned him long ago, 
On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds, 
With a diadem of snow," 

stood up as though but a few hours' walk from us. I had 
looked down, years before, from very near its summit upon 
this plain; now I looked up at it. Next was the Great St. 
Bernard, on which in October, 1863, I slept in the midst of a 
howling snowstorm; but the next morning, the storm having 
ceased, beheld the vast expanse of northern Italy. 

This was not all, for Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn, with 
the taunting beauty and beckoning hand which have led so 
many to death, reared themselves against the early morning 
sky, and when our eyes could no longer bear the brilliancy of 
the stupendous masses of snow, we turned to the far east and 
saw, in the background behind the city of Pavia, through 
which we had passed a few days before, the dark Apennines. 
Much nearer were the mountains about Lake Como, and 
these, on account of their proximity, seemed higher than the 
others. 



J54 Travels in Three Continents. 

I did not wonder that an epidemic of suicides from that 
lofty height had compelled the making of a regulation that no 
visitor could be allowed to ascend alone. The watchman in- 
formed us that forty persons had killed themselves by leaping 
into the square. There is an insanity of height, and many 
who never meant to kill themselves have leaped from lofty 
summits. Morbid vanity appeals to cranks, imitation multi- 
plies the number, and many who are neither cranks, insane, 
nor morbidly vain are conscious, when in such positions, of an 
almost irresistible impulse to leap. 

But Milan has much besides the Duomo to please and in- 
struct the visitor. The church of San Ambrogio was founded 
in the fourth century by Ambrose on the ruins of an old 
heathen temple dedicated to Bacchus. 

In this building the Lombard kings and German emperors 
were crowned with the iron crown, and the old pillar on which 
they took the oath still stands. Here is buried Pepin, the 
son of Charlemagne, and, it is claimed, Ambrose himself. 
Besides there are many fine churches, and palaces without 
number filled with paintings and statues. 

The gallery of Victor Emmanuel, an octagon, with a cupola 
of great height, is adorned with frescoes representing Europe, 
Asia, Africa, and America. It also contains twenty-four 
statues of famous Italians, among them names with which the 
educated world is familiar: Cavour, Marco Polo, Raphael, 
Galileo, Dante, Michael Angelo, Columbus, Savonarola. The 
monument of Leonardo da Vinci, and the statue of Cavour 
in another part of the city, and especially a bronze statue of 
Napoleon the First, as Roman Emperor, by Canova, are works 
of the highest order. Cavour's statue, in the plaza named 
after him, is made impressive by an elevated pedestal of the 
finest granite. 

The Milanese think their cemetery superior to that of Genoa. 
I cannot tell how it would have pleased me had I not been 
disgusted with the display style of grief in the former city. 
Nor was our opportunity so favorable, as the snow was melt- 
ing, compelling a very hurried passage over some of its more 
splendid avenues. Cremation is gaining ground there, and 
the Tempio di Cremazioue has been admitted to the cemetery. 




Monument of Leonardo da Vinci 



Genoa and Milan. 157 

On our way to that part of the city we saw the great parade 
ground, nearly half a mile square, and the arena, built under 
Napoleon the First, large enough to accommodate thirty 
thousand spectators. Also, the Triumphal Arch, of white 
marble, begun by Napoleon the First as a termination of the 
Simplon route, the first carriage road from Switzerland to 
Italy over the Alps, and made by his order. 

It is said that no town in Italy, since the union of the entire 
country in one kingdom, has undergone such improvement as 
Milan. A new Protestant church, erected by the Methodist 
Episcopal Missionary Society of the United States, then rap- 
idly approaching completion, was shown us by Signor Ravi, 
the acting minister; — a solid, well-situated, churchly structure, 
seating three hundred, with rooms for meetings and residence 
for janitor and pastor. 



158 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Venice — The Enchanted City. 

History — Situation — Piazza and Church of San Marco — Tomb of St. Mark — 
Palace of the Doges — Roman Catholic Mission Church — Grand Canal — 
Campanile — View from the Top of the Tower. 

Venice had already begun a career whose glory throws a 
halo over it to this day, when in the year 828 a Venetian fleet 
brought the body of St. Mark to that place, and the republic 
adopted him as its peculiar saint, naming its highest official 
"the Procurator of St. Mark." It was in the zenith of its 
glory when, by the conquest of Constantinople, it divided the 
Byzantine empire, captured the entire coast of the Adriatic, 
and the Levant from Durazzo to Trebizond, and nearly all the 
islands of the Greek Archipelago, the whole of Dalmatia, much 
of the mainland of Greece, and held the entire coast from the 
Po to the island of Corfu, besides having conquered, one after 
another, in a hundred and fifty years, Treviso, Vicenza, Padua, 
Verona, Udine, Brescia, Bergamo, Crema, and Rovigo; 
when it monopolized the commerce of India, whose produc- 
tions were brought through the north of Persia, the Euphrates, 
and the Tigris to Bagdad, thence by camels across the desert 
to Palmyra, and thence by sea. The annual espousing of the 
city as " Queen of the Adriatic " was then more than an ideal 
ceremony, performed by the Doge on Ascension Day, ac- 
companied by all the nobility and foreign representatives in 
gondolas, dropping a ring into the sea from the state barge. 
In 1797 this ostentatious but poetic and pathetic usage was 
omitted for the first time in nearly a thousand years. But the 
commercial supremacy of Venice is gone; and, though its 
business is still considerable, it is "as a glorious relic of past 
greatness that the railway-shaken tourist turns with infinite re- 
lief from the prosperous cities of Europe to its thousand en- 
joyments." 

The best description of the situation of Venice is St. Peter's 



Venice- — The Enchanted City. 161 

reference to the world at the time of the flood, "the earth 
standing out of the water, and in the water." So 

"... from out the waves her structures rise 
As from the stroke of the enchanter's wand." 

We arrived at night, and glided to the hotel in a black, rak- 
ish-looking gondola, silently as an assassin might wish to pass 
away from the scene of his crime. The Hotel Victoria is 
cheerless and ill kept, equally damaging to the reputation of 
those who keep and those who recommend it ; though the 
temperature was very low, there was but one fire accessible 
to the guests; the reading room was unlighted, the table poor, 
the servants stupid, the proprietor surly, the guests, of whom 
there were but five, disgusted. We departed as soon as the 
sun was up the next morning. 

Some of the finest cities in the world are situated upon 
islands, but this rests upon one hundred and seventeen, of 
which three only are large. One hundred and fifty canals are 
thus formed, which are spanned by nearly four hundred 
bridges. Not a horse, or a vehicle larger than a handcart, did 
we see in exploring the whole city. The hum of moving feet 
and wheels, which in other places often rises to a roar, is here 
unheard. 

The lagoons are protected from the open sea, but are about 
equally divided into two classes, the names of which are sug- 
gestive: the laguna viva; in it the tide rises and falls every 
day; and the lag una niorta, which is not affected by the tide. 
Venice, of course, is in the former class. Stagnant pools are 
everywhere laguna niorta. 

The gondolas are quaint, have a low canopy and a seat 
made of leather, accommodating three or four persons, and, 
according to an old law are painted black. Besides these is 
a barca which accommodates twice as many; it has a long, 
heavy, iron prow. There are omnibus boats, which no one 
would be likely to take unless oppressed by poverty. The 
speed of all is less than that of an ordinary walk. On the 
Grand Canal small steamboats ply during the day. The rates 
of fare are not high. While making the tour of the Grand 
Canal I saw why Stockholm is called the Venice of the North. 



162 Travels in Three Continents. 

The situations of the two cities are similar, though the waters 
of Stockholm are clearer and more sparkling. 

A common error is the notion that it is possible to explore 
Venice by boats only. Most of the houses rise from the canals, 
or are very near them, but almost every place can be reached on 
foot, and it is impossible to see the most characteristic parts, 
and to become acquainted with the habits of the common 
people in any other way. I noticed that there was a sunset 
aspect to everything but the inhabitants, who were vivacious 
and active. It was a noble, but wrinkled, rather than youthful, 
face that smiled. We found much complaint of a temporary 
depression of business. 

The chief rendezvous for the people when at leisure is the 
Piazza of San Marco. I have nowhere seen a more majestic 
square; for on three sides rise great structures which seem like 
one. Of white marble, they are black with age and expo- 
sure. In the glorious times the highest officials, next below 
the doge in rank, dwelt there; now they are used for various 
general purposes, and the ground floors are occupied by cafes 
and shops. 

Here the military bands play on Sundays, Mondays, Wed- 
nesdays, and Fridays, in the summer evenings; in the winter, 
from two to four. The square, when we were there, was 
crowded as though a score of churches had poured their con- 
gregations into it, and the beauty and wealth of Venice min- 
gled with the proletariat. One of the curiosities of Venice is 
a flock of pigeons, perfectly tame, which are fed by officials. 
These are the descendants of the carrier pigeons which gave 
intelligence to Admiral Dandolo when he was besieging the 
island of Candia. After the conquest he sent the birds to 
Venice, carrying the news of his success. The people revere 
them, and would tear in pieces anyone who should wantonly 
treat them with disrespect. 

The Church of San Marco is more oriental in appearance 
than most existing edifices in the East; but it is really compos- 
ite. A church in the shape of a Greek cross, having three 
Byzantine domes and several Gothic features, is somewhat con- 
fusing. Four horses in gilded bronze, once upon the Tri- 
umphal Arch of Nero, then upon that of Trajan, afterward 



nBK n 




Bridge oi oigns 



Venice — The Enchanted City. 165 

taken to Constantinople, and finally by Napoleon to Paris, 
where for a few years they adorned the triumphal arch in the 
Place du Carrousel, and then transferred to Venice, are worthy 
of study, not only for their exquisite execution, but their 
strange vicissitudes. We lingered long in this cathedral and 
paid a visit to the tomb of St. Mark, upon the authenticity of 
which there is very general agreement, to the extent of con- 
ceding that for centuries before the Venetians brought it here, 
it had been revered as such. 

The Palace of the Doges, in which we spent half a day, is 
the only rival of the Cathedral of St. Mark in historic and 
artistic attractions. Five times the palace was destroyed, and 
each time reconstructed more magnificently than ever, and it 
was then being repaired on an extensive scale. We stood 
where the republic caused its death sentences to be announced. 
Thence we passed to the point where the decrees of the repub- 
lic were published; looked at the prison of the poet, Count 
Silvio Pellico; went to the steps where the Doges were 
crowned; studied the multitude of busts of Venetian artists 
and scholars, perceiving a remarkable dissimilarity which 
raised a presumption of fidelity; the fact that there are many 
bald heads among them show that no remarkable change has 
taken place in the tendency of sedentary habits to produce 
baldness. 

The gloomy dungeons and torture chamber, with the place 
of execution for political criminals, furnished sufficient of the 
morbid. We passed over the famous Bridge of Sighs of which 
Byron speaks: 

" I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs ; 
A palace and a prison on each hand ; " 

and Howells refers to the same as "that pathetic swindle — 
the Bridge of Sighs." 

After leaving the Hotel Victoria we secured . rooms at the 
Hotel Europa, which was formerly the Palazzo Giustiniani. I 
have had my hair brushed by machinery in the palace of Car- 
dinal Wolsey in London, and have lodged in this magnificent 
specimen of the style of the fifteenth century at ordinary hotel 
rates — sic transit gloria mundi. 



1 66 Travels in Three Continents. 

The church after San Marco in order of importance is that 
in which the Doges are buried. It has been called the West- 
minster Abbey of Venice. 

On Sunday we entered a Roman Catholic mission church, 
which bore the sign over the door "Welcome." As we passed 
in we were notified that indulgences could be obtained on 
reasonable terms. The building was crowded, and the de- 
meanor of the worshipers devout. As we passed out an acro- 
bat came from an alley, gave a few specimens of his power, 
and called the people to witness further exhibitions in an adja- 
cent building. Punch and Judy was being performed not far 
from the spot. In a wine shop a fierce fight was in progress. 
Three men were ejecting two who were fighting, and these 
fought all about the square for some minutes, and though it 
looked as though one was intent to kill the other, no serious 
damage was done, and no police appeared to quell the disturb- 
ance. 

The ride on the Grand Canal exhibits a succession of pal- 
aces and other public buildings, mosaic manufactures, acad- 
emies, magazines of antiquities, courts, municipal offices, 
warehouses, churches, monasteries, and edifices made cele- 
brated by eminent persons who were born or died there. The 
house in which Catharine Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, was born, 
is now a pawn office. One of the prominent buildings on the 
canal is the Palace Vendramin Calergi. It was in this house 
that Richard Wagner died ten years ago. 

We ascended the Campanile, three hundred and twenty-two 
feet in height, covered with marble, and surmounted by an 
angel sixteen feet high. The ascent is more easy than that 
of any other tower, being by winding inclined planes of thirty- 
eight bends. The spectacle, including all the islands, canals, 
lagoons, part of the Adriatic, the distant Alps, and the Istrian 
Mountains that rise above the Adriatic, is wonderful. The 
thousandth anniversary of the foundation of this tower had 
just been celebrated. 

Descending, we took the gondola for the railway station, 
and bade adieu to the widowed "Queen of the Adriatic." 



Florence — Shrine of Art, Science, Literature. 167 



CHAPTER XX. 
Florence — Shrine of Art, Science, Literature. 

Famous Artists and Scientists — Situation of Florence — Cathedral — Church of 
Santa Croce — Monastery of St. Mark — Fiesole — Ruins and Views— Galileo's 
Tower — The " Golden Book." 

Florence is the birthplace of Dante, by whom, with his 
expounder, Boccaccio, the Italian language was formed, en- 
riched, and systematized: — Dante, declared by Mr. Gladstone 
to be the greatest moral educator of the modern world. 
Florence was the center of the Renaissance; here Lorenzo il 
Magnifico was equally famous as statesman, poet, and patron 
of art and science; here was begotten that worship of the 
antique, which placed on the pedestal from which indifferent 
and depraved taste had cast it down, the genius of ancient 
Greece and Rome in poetry, eloquence, painting, sculpture, 
and architecture. Among its glories are that here Giotto in 
painting, and Donatello in sculpture, prepared the way for 
Raphael and Michael Angelo; made more illustrious by the 
period when Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, and Raphael 
were contemporaneous in Florence, and their pupils and im- 
itators, of the most distinguished abilities, from all parts of 
the world, filled the city. And if these masters had not lived, 
there were other sculptors, painters, and architects who would 
have elevated Florence above the other cities of Italy. 

Turning from arts to science, the traveler may visit the 
Tribuna, commemorative of Galileo, and behold the frescoes 
which represent him as studying the pendent lamp, whose 
swaying suggested to him the philosophy of the pendulum, ex- 
pounding the telescope before the Doge and Council of Ten at 
Venice, and demonstrating to his pupils the movements of the 
stars. He may then enter one of the galleries and view the 
statues of the great men who were born in Florence, or 
studied and nourished there, and he will acknowledge that this 
has been preeminently the center and source of intellectual life 
and light. 



i68 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Never had clustered gems so fine a setting — in the heart 
of Tuscany, between the Apennines and the Mediterra- 
nean, in a valley watered by the Arno, surrounded by gentle 






it kr 




Duomo of Florence. 



slopes, noble hills, and at no great distance more imposing 
heights, which protect it from extremes of heat and cold. Had 
its glory been foreseen the site could not have been more 



Florence — Shrine of Art, Science, Literature. 169 

artistically chosen. Its palaces, piazzas, squares, monuments, 
parks, and private residences, with their lavish but not gaudy 
decoration, everywhere "betray the work of generation after 
generation of ingenious men." That strange people, the 
Etruscans, who came from an unknown quarter, and exerted 
so strong an influence upon the civilization of Europe, settled 
here, whence the name of the whole region — Tuscany. They 
spread the knowledge of writing and the mechanical arts, and 
one of the most interesting collections in Florence is the 
Etruscan Museum. 

The Florentines intended that the cathedral should surpass 
all preceding structures. It was designed by Arnolfo del 
Cambia. When he died work ceased until Giotto was re- 
quested to complete it; he did not live to do so, and it was 
intrusted to Brunelleschi. One hundred and twenty-two years 
after it was begun, a public competition of models for the 
dome was announced, the result of which was the construction 
of a dome exceeding all others in diameter, and which was se- 
lected by Michael Angelo as the model for that of St. Peter's 
in Rome. Its style is Gothic, modified by the Italian school. 
One's impression on entering is that the building is nearly 
empty, but its size transforms surprise into a sense of grandeur. 
The noble pavement and the exquisite stained glass windows 
render the effect still more satisfactory. The building is a 
vast gallery of painting and sculpture. Here are the mon- 
ument of Brunelleschi and his portrait in marble, the bust 
of Giotto, monuments and portraits of St. Matthew, St. 
James, St. Philip, and St. James the Great, statues of St. 
John, St. Peter, and St. Luke. A scientific curiosity is a 
round marble slab, put in position in the year 1450 by a math- 
ematician of Florence, for observations of the sun through an 
orifice in the dome. 

We climbed the bell tower, with its decorations of colored 
marble, magnificent windows, statues, frescoes, and series of 
bas-reliefs, representing the development of mankind from the 
creation to the culmination of Christian civilization: the cre- 
ation of Eve; Adam and Eve at work in the garden; dwell- 
ers in tents; and, finally, astronomers, riders, weavers, navi- 
gators, agriculturists, are portrayed. Arts are represented by 



170 Travels in Three Continents. 

figures of Phidias, Apelles, Orpheus, Plato, Aristotle, Ptole- 
my, Euclid. Donatus, and an unknown musician. The view 
from the summit made us forget the climb of four hundred 
and fourteen steps. 

Interesting as is the cathedral, the Church of Santa Croce 
surpasses it. It has been called the Pantheon of modern 
Italy. 

" In Santa Croce's holy precincts lie 

Ashes which make it holier; dust which is 
Even in itself an immortality, 

Though there was nothing save the past and this, 
The particle of those sublimities 

Which have relapsed to chaos : here repose 
Angelo's, Alfieri's bones, and his, 

The starry Galileo, with his woes ; 

Here Machiavelli's earth returned to whence it rose." 

Tombs of statesmen, scholars, poets, architects, and com- 
posers, and the innumerable multitude of masterpieces of dif- 
ferent artists, make the church a place for delightful and 
protracted visits. In the refectory is a beautiful painting 
of the Last Supper, and another of the Crucifixion. The 
Tribunal of the Inquisition held its sittings in this room. 
A crucifix by Donatello, executed in competition with Bru- 
nelleschi, is striking in its history and in itself. In front of 
the building is the monument of Dante, nineteen feet high, 
standing on a pedestal twenty-three feet, which was un- 
veiled on the six hundredth anniversary of his birth, May 
14, 1865. 

At the Monastery of St. Mark, no longer used as such, but 
fitted up as a museum, we entered the cells occupied by 
Savonarola. His portrait by Fra Bartolommeo, also an inmate 
of the monastery, his bronze bust, his crucifix and autographs, 
and a copy of an old picture representing his execution, were 
shown. Afterward we went to the spot where he was burned, 
now covered by a fountain, erected at the north corner of the 
Palazzo Vecchio, sixty-six years after the tragedy, in the 
great hall of which there is a reminder of the temporary in- 
fluence which Savonarola exerted. This hall, constructed 
three years before his death for the council which had been in- 
creased in numbers by his partisans, is large enough to have 



Florence — Shrine of Art, Science, Literature. 171 

accommodated the sessions of the Italian Parliament twenty- 
five years ago. 

After several days spent in the galleries and palaces of 
Florence I found my eyes "dim with excess of light," and my 
mind in a confused state — basins of porphyry, portraits of 
Samson, banners of Italian cities, mosaics, and ceilings painted 
in imitation of mosaics, Judith and Holofernes, Madonnas and 
saints without number, the Magi, Venus, Bacchus, St. Paul, 
Caesar, tombs, cherubs, Laocoons, satyrs with gaps in their 
teeth, cupids on a dolphin, Amazons fighting, small gray birds 
with red crests, heads of the Medusa, death of Virgin Mary, 
angels with mandolin, massacre of innocents, Luther's wife, 
kings on horseback, gamblers struck by lightning, columns of 
oriental alabaster, vases of rock crystal, portraits of popes and 
cardinals and of Pluto, men with apes upon their shoulders, 
boar hunts, ancient bronze helmets, spurs, lamps, old manu- 
scripts, vaulted aisles and statues of the archangel Michael, 
all thrown together, with the names of Van Dyck, Rubens, 
Correggio, Raphael, Da Vinci, and Titian indiscriminately ap- 
plied. I was positively intoxicated with art. But after a few 
days my vision clarified, and there came out a score of paint- 
ings and statues as distinctly impressed upon the mind's eye 
as vivid perception of the physical organs. All the rest is lost 
in the milky way of finite memory. 

An excursion to the town of Fiesole, " old when Rome was 
in its infancy," was delightful. On the way we saw mag- 
nificent villas, one of which was the residence of the Earl of 
Crawford. This is made by Boccaccio the residence of the 
narrators in his Decameron, a book which has an interest for 
students of English (polluted, however, by all the vices of its 
age and people), for it was the model of Chaucer's Canterbury 
Tales. We passed a favorite villa of Lorenzo il Magnifico, as- 
cended the hill by an excellent road, and found many Etruscan 
ruins; also the wall, the entrance of a theater, of which six- 
teen tiers of stone seats in a semicircle thirty-seven yards in 
diameter remain. We divided our company of three into 
speaker and audience and tried the acoustic and spectacular 
properties, which were so fine that ten thousand persons must 
have been able to see and hear. The old monastery and the 



172 Travels in Three Continents. 

cathedral are worth the climb, but the glory of the place is its 
ruins and the lovely prospect. 

We caught a glimpse in the distance of Galileo's Tower. 
Here he entertained Milton when on a visit to Florence after 
he became blind, and when many of his former friends 
neglected him. 

Florence has some strange and other amusing peculiarities. 
We were shown two of Galileo's fingers — one with a ring on it 
pointing upward, under a glass case; the other, which was 
stolen from his tomb, is preserved in a bottle in one of the 
libraries. In one of the churches is a chapel begun in 1604, 
when Ferdinand the First was on the throne. It is brilliantly 
frescoed, and has intricate mosaics. Some think it the finest 
edifice in Florence. It was designed to hold the Holy Sep- 
ulcher which Ferdinand intended to steal, but his agents were 
caught when detaching it from the Church of the Holy 
Sepulcher in Jerusalem, where it now is. 

Here may be seen a painting, by St. Luke, of the Virgin and 
Child. Luke, the physician, must have been an industrious 
amateur painter. I saw one of his paintings in Moscow said 
to have miraculous powers. Over the bronze statue at the en- 
trance of the Church of Santa Croce are the letters I H S 
(lesus Hominum Salvator — Jesus Saviour of Men). These 
initials were originally placed in front of the church by St. 
Bernardino. He had expostulated with one of his flock for 
manufacturing playing cards. The man told him he did not 
know how to make a living in any other way. The saint "told 
him to put these letters on his blank cards and sell them." It 
was successful, and the man soon grew rich. Now they are 
to be seen in every Roman Catholic church in the world. 

The way in which the funds were raised to construct the 
beautiful road over which we traveled to Fiesole is entertaining. 
The inhabitants of Fiesole possess what is called the " Golden 
Book." Those whose names are enrolled in it become nobles, 
and the money was raised by issuing patents of nobility. Three 
hundred dollars would buy a title, coat of arms, and seal. 
" Several Englishmen have invested, and numerous Americans. " 
Mr. Spurgeon satirizes the efforts of families without any 
genealogy to find one, by saying that he has looked up his an- 



Florence — Shrine of Art, Science, Literature. 173 

cestry and found that "he is descended from a gardener who 
robbed his master and lost his situation, and the less said 
about it the better." 

Florence affords such unsurpassed facilities to students of 
art that there are colonies from all civilized nations. Its hotels, 
pensions, and cafes are numerous and fine. Many of the 
Tuscans rent their villas to men of wealth from foreign na- 
tions. One of these residents informed me that a man knows 
absolutely nothing about Florence unless he has lived there 
five years. Subsequently I learned that he had been there five 
years and one week. 
10 



i74 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
Rome — The Encyclopedic City. 

Glance at Rome's History — Seven Hills — Tiber — Pantheon — Column of 
Marcus Aurelius — Grand Circus — Forum — Arch of Constantine — Appian 
Way — Mamertine Prison — Catacombs — August in ian Monastery — Capucine 
Cemetery — St. Peter's — Palace of the Vatican — Sistine Chapel — St. Paul 
Without the Walls — New Rome. 

It is impossible to anticipate at what time or place will be 
felt the mystic thrill, the soul of the traveler's emotion. Some- 
times it is when he catches a glimpse of land after a long 
voyage; again when the towers or spires of a famous city rise 
upon the horizon; or it may be when the feet for the first time 
tread historic or consecrated ground; or when the hand clasps 
that of the friend who has beckoned us across the sea. My 
thrill was not on first seeing Rome, which was at midnight, 
but when more than three hundred miles north of it, en route 
to another city, in a railway station I saw one of the ordinary 
placards hung upon coaches, " Train for Rome." Then the 
thought flashed, "You are within a few hours' ride of 'The 
Mistress of the World,' 'The Imperial City,' 'The Eternal 
City,' 'The Capital of Ancient Civilization.' 'The Capital of 
the World,' 'The City of Cities,' 'The City of the Soul.'" 

Weeks afterward, on arriving, I rode in a rumbling coach 
from the station to the hotel with no more sense of the extraor- 
dinary than would have been felt in any one of a thousand 
stone-paved cities. When I went forth the next morning the 
history of the old Roman world rose before me, and for days 
I was in a kind of mnemonic trance, which made the long 
gone past seem present; for the historic memory may be as 
vivid as that of experience. I saw the legendary kings appear, 
becoming more distinctly outlined as myth gave place to his- 
tory, and Tarquin the Elder, and the noble Servius Tullius 
stamped their individuality upon the city. Then I witnessed 
the ignominious expulsion of Tarquin the Superb, whose 





a 




Rome — The Encyclopedic City. 177 

tyranny became insupportable. I was present at the birth of 
the republic, saw it give way to a dictatorship, to the tri- 
bunes and the decemvirs, and finally resume its sway under 
consuls, who made it the most wonderful power the world 
ever knew. I stood by when Julius Caesar was assassinated, 
heard him gasp, "Et tu, Brute," and listened to Mark Antony's 
funeral oration. I saw Augustus the Magnificent, Tiberius the 
Saturnine, Caligula the Vindictive; witnessed the burning of 
Rome, and heard Nero's fiddle. I saw Titus the Obstinate,. 
Domitian the Persecutor, Trajan the Crand, Hadrian the Os- 
tentatious, Marcus Aurelius the Magnanimous, Constantine 
the Great, Julian the Apostate, Theodosius the Christian. 
Finally I looked on while the Western Empire crashed into 
fragments. As these events passed in panoramic vision, each 
ruin took its place as naturally as milestones on a turnpike, 
and aroused the emotions of a lifetime, which could be caused 
to vibrate by the countless chords which Rome has touched 
through literature, law, and religion. 

The Seven Hills were easily identified, although in one or 
two instances accumulated debris had almost obliterated the 
intervening valley; and schoolboy translations that were per- 
plexing were clarified as the Capitoline, Palatine, Aventine, 
Caslian, Esquiline, Viminal, and Quirinal hills asserted them- 
selves. The location of the Tarpeian Rock, over which the 
condemned were thrown by the ancient Romans, cannot be 
established. "Father Tiber" was as muddy as in ancient 
days, but much smaller, for then seagoing vessels came to 
Rome; but with the destruction of the forests its water sup- 
plies were cut off, and now it is navigable but a short distance 
from the sea. The tomb of the Scipios recalled the ever-ro- 
mantic story of that greatest of Roman families, their exploits, 
and the magnificence of their triumphs. I looked upon it, and 
heard the slave whisper in the ear of the mightiest, on the day 
of his triumph: " Scipio, thou art but a man." 

Before the Pantheon I paused on three occasions, mourning 
the statues and decorations long since destroyed. But its mag- 
nificent columns of granite, the niches in which stood the 
statues of Augustus and his son-in-law, the hall lighted from 
above, speak of the grandeur of ancient Roman conception as 



178 Travels in Three Continents. 

no description can. The tombs of Raphael and Victor 
Emmanuel relax, rather than deepen the solemnity. 

The noble column of Marcus Aurelius recalled a reign 
among the most ideal in profane history. As 1 gazed upon it, 
indignation arose against the pope who crowned it with a 
statue of St. Paul, who needs no stolen honors. The Trium- 
phal Arch of Titus, with its bas-reliefs describing battle 
scenes, not omitting the more humane features, brought up 
the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, whose overthrow it cele- 
brates, and the strange prophetic words of Jesus Christ con- 
cerning it. Trajan's Column, built wholly of marble — not of 
bronze, as a recent writer erroneously states — is very beautiful; 
its most pleasing feature being a spiral band, three feet wide 
and six hundred and sixty feet long, running round the col- 
umn, containing bas-reliefs of war scenes from the life of Tra- 
jan, exhibiting machines, animals, and twenty-five hundred 
human figures. A statue of St. Peter now surmounts it, 
another instance of barbarous taste. 

A stroll through the Grand Circus, at one time capable of 
containing a quarter of a million of spectators, suggested the 
vastness of the population, and the splendor of its entertain- 
ments. It was found too small, and its capacity was increased 
to three hundred and eighty-five thousand. The Colosseum 
expanded before me, as, plan in hand, with the aid of the re- 
maining walls, I tried to reconstruct the edifice. A third of a 
mile in circumference, and four stories high, it would seat 
eighty-seven thousand. But that prodigious structure was 
reared to furnish the people of Rome with entertainments of 
the same nature as the Spanish bullfights. Thus original bar- 
baric instincts thrust themselves through the granite and gold 
of ancient civilization. 

To me, the Forum with its surroundings seemed the grand- 
est object in the ancient ruins of Rome. There the great 
political and oratorical contests took place, and the name of a 
Roman citizen received its noblest illustration. In the pop- 
ular assemblies public sentiment was molded, expressed, crys- 
tallized. There, too, the funerals of the nobility were cele- 
brated, and in later days it was filled with columns, triumphal 
arches, statues, and covered with inscriptions recording its 




SI 




Rome — The Encyclopedic City. 181 

history. To it Cassar transferred the orators' tribune which he 
erected, with a platform sixty-five feet long and sixteen feet 
wide, giving the speaker abundance of room to command the 
audience by walking from point to point during his address. 
From it Mark Antony delivered the immortal funeral oration. 
Standing here I could trace the sites where most of the great- 
est events in the history of the city of Rome took place, many 
of them identified beyond question, and others known to be 
within the circle of vision. 

The Triumphal Arch of Constantine, independent of its ex- 
cellent preservation as a ruin, is superior to all other struc- 
tures of the kind, for it is to the Christian peculiarly sugges- 
tive, because erected when he declared himself in favor of 
Christianity, just after his victory over Maxentius; and both 
for this reason and because it is comparatively recent, nat- 
urally introduces us to the ecclesiastical structures, institu- 
tions, legends, and hierarchy which, for so many centuries, 
have given Christian Rome an influence more far-reaching than 
that which it had in the olden times. 

I went to the Appian Way, because along it St. Paul 
journeyed on his way to Rome. It is now dusty, rough, and 
crowded; but he who "was not ashamed of the Gospel of 
Christ," and " was ready to preach the Gospel to them that 
were at Rome also," made it more famous than he who built 
it or the pagan hosts which marched over it. 

In the Mamertine Prison, a structure which takes us back 
to the infancy of Rome, St. Peter is, on doubtful authority, 
declared to have been imprisoned. I descended into the 
dungeon and saw the spring which Roman Catholic tradition 
says miraculously burst forth to afford him water to baptize 
his jailers. He must have been physically li petros, a stone; 
for they show where, in falling, his features were imprinted 
upon the rock. 

From the dazzling sunlight, I entered abruptly into the cat- 
acombs, and wandered among them until wearied with the 
grotesque imitations of pagan models. While a few of the 
inscriptions are devout, coarse pictures of the resurrection of 
Lazarus, and of Jonah swallowed by the fish, and other Old 
Testament narratives, exhibit a childish tendency, and justify 



182 Travels in Thrke Continents. 

the critics in affirming that they show and participate in " the 
precipitate and almost total degradation of art." It is not the 
place, however, to see the best, as they have been removed 
to different churches and museums. Thousands of bones, 
supposed to have miraculous healing properties, have been 
peddled over Europe. As all sorts of people were buried in 
the catacombs, it has been truthfully said that it is probable 
that the bones of the greatest sinners have been exhumed and 
revered as saints. Twenty-eight wagon loads of bones of 
saints taken from the catacombs are deposited under the altar 
in the Pantheon. 

As with the single turn of the key, the Augustinian Mon- 
astery, in which Luther resided on his critical visit to Rome, 
opened a picture gallery in the memory in which are pre- 
served the battle scenes of his mighty struggles for religious 
freedom. Indeed, with every step one takes in Rome he treads 
upon invisible wires that reach through the ages and around 
the world. 

The Capucine Cemetery is one of the worst specimens of 
morbid taste. The vaults are filled with human bones made 
into ornaments of different kinds. There skeletons lie under 
canopies of bones upon bone couches. It was suggestive of 
the recent momentous changes when, in answer to a question 
whether the monks are still buried there, the custodian (himself 
a monk) said, "It is forbidden by law." The College of the 
Propaganda, swarming with students from all countries, whom 
we saw come forth at the close of their recitations, a polyglot 
band, from whose talk we caught snatches of every language, 
as they walked along the streets, demonstrates that those Prot- 
estants who think of Romanism as weakening are dreamers. 

St. Peter's is vast and commanding, but contains a melange 
of different types of beauty which mar each other; the dome 
is perfect; the contents so multifarious as to bewilder. The 
high altar over the tomb of St. Peter, the confessional boxes 
for the different languages, the sitting statue of St. Peter 
with one of the feet much worn by the kisses of devotees, 
attract attention; but St. John Lateran, where the popes are 
crowned, is historically more interesting. St. Luke again 
appears as an artist, and the picture attributed to him, of 




Murillo's Sacred Family. 



Rome — The Encyclopedic City. 



i&S 



the Virgin and Child, was carried by Gregory the Great in 
procession to check the plague in 590. The Church claims 
to have the cedar table on which the Last Supper was eaten. 



- 



■d 







Raphael's Sacred Family. 

The vast palace of the Vatican, in which millions upon mil- 
lions believe that the vicegerent of God resides, our party 
entered, not unmindful of the grandeur and comprehensive- 
ness of the assumption, the devotion of those who accept it, and 



1 86 Travels in Three Continents. 

the power of the ancient organization of which the pope is 
the head. Italy is to-day independent and free, the pope a 
i voluntary prisoner, his dominions politically restricted to these 
twenty courts and eleven thousand halls, saloons, and apart- 
ments ! 

The Sistine Chapel and_ Raphael's Stanze and Loggie are 
rivals for the palm of modern art. Raphael's Madonna, the 
invaluable treasure of the picture gallery in Dresden, seems to 
me to excel in dignity and beauty the frescoes in the Sistine 
Chapel, the Stanze, the Transfiguration, or any other work of 
Raphael or of Michael Angelo. 

St. Paul Without the Walls, formerly held to be the finest 
church in Rome, but damaged by a fire in 1823, is still a strong 
competitor with any other ecclesiastical edifice. The critics 
affirm that it is now showy, and in many respects unpleasing; 
but the people praise it. It is an astonishingly conspicuous 
edifice, but from the Roman point of view churchly. In it on 
the feast day of St. Paul I heard the finest singing that Rome 
can produce. A man known as the "Angel of Rome," with 
a remarkably clear feminine voice, was the principal soprano, 
and the powerful chorus reverberated through the structure in 
answering waves of melody. St. Paul is said to be buried 
here, though it is claimed by some that his body with that of 
St. Peter, is in St. John Lateran. 

New Rome is a bustling, building, thriving city. The 
"dead lion " and, not the " living dog," but a young lion are 
side by side, and the best descriptive title and the shortest 
that can be given to the two is, Rome — The Encyclopedic 
City. 



Naples — The Wanton Beauty. 187 



CHAPTER XXII. 
Naples — The Wanton Beauty. 

Noted Residents of and Visitors to Naples — Beauty of Situation — Cathedral 
— Miracle of Liquefaction- -National Museum — Aquarium — Neapolitan Pe- 
culiarities and Morals — Corso Garibaldi and Corso Vittorio Emaniiele — Im- 
provements. 

Though Naples is older than Rome, and therefore contem- 
porary with its history, and of Greek origin, it has few Greek 
or Roman ruins. Nor is its position in art, literature, or 
science equal to that of any of the important Italian cities. 
It has "never been able to dispense with the assistance of 
foreign artists," and the tourist who has been in Venice, Flor- 
ence, and Rome finds in art comparatively little to interest 
him in Naples. Relatively to the size of the city, the most 
populous in the kingdom, there are few fine buildings, the 
streets generally being narrow and dirty, and the houses 
high and narrow. Yet, Rome excepted, Naples is the best 
known and most frequently mentioned city in Italy. Its 
beauty, vicissitudes, physical and political, extreme liveliness, 
immorality, and sunny clime account for its fame. The 
renowned men who have resided here from the earliest times, 
contribute to its celebrity. It was a favorite resort of Augus- 
tus. Virgil lived near Naples, there wrote some of his finest 
poems, and is said to be buried not far from the city. 

It was in the suburbs of Naples that the last monarch of the 
Western Empire died. In modern times the poet Rogers, Bul- 
wer, and other noted writers, frequented it. Mr. Gladstone 
has always greatly admired the city, enjoying its climate, scen- 
ery, and literary associations. He was there at the time of my 
visit, receiving high honors; no other Englishman being so 
popular in Italy as he. Rogers gave loose rein to Pegasus 
when he wrote of Naples: 

" This region, surely, is not of the earth, 
Was it not dropped from heaven? Not a grove, 
Citron, or pine, or cedar; not a grot, 
Sea-worn and mantled with the gadding vine, 
But breathes enchantment." 



i S3 Travels in Three Continents. 

Among the cities of Europe, in beauty of situation, it has no 
rival excepting Constantinople. Our hotel (Bristol) is half 
a mile from the station in the new part of the city, upon a high 
hill overlooking the bay, the mountains, the old and new towns. 

Naples is on the north side of the bay; three islands sepa- 
rating it from the sea — Procida, Ischia, and Capri. To the 
southeast the bay is bounded by Monte San Angelo — as high 
as Mount Mansfield in Vermont; north of that eminence rises 
Vesuvius. In fair weather the bay, thus protected, is smooth 
as glass, bright as polished silver, reflecting the surrounding 
mountains and the city in an astonishing manner. 

"... Not a cliff but flings 
On the clear wave some image of delight." 

Whatever the outlook, the Bay of Naples furnishes the ideal 
of beauty. In storms it is not more grand than other bays, 
but at sunrise, at sunset, or in midday, it is unsurpassably 
lovely. 

The cathedral is disappointing. Some of the pictures are 
striking; others of questionable taste. Christ is represented 
between St. Januarius and Athanasius. Behind the altar are 
two bottles reputed to contain the blood of St. Januarius, and 
that furnish the materials for the far-famed miracle which 
occurs three times a year — in May, September, and Decem- 
ber — and is said to last eight days. The legend is that it first 
liquefied when the body of St. Januarius, who suffered martyr- 
dom under Diocletian, was brought to Naples in the time of 
Constantine. The transformation takes place between nine 
and ten a. m., and the people think that according as the 
flow is rapid or slow, it is a good or evil omen for the rest of 
the year. The day of his martyrdom is September 19, and 
this is the chief festival on these occasions. Also in times of 
unusual calamity the head of the martyr and the bottles con- 
taining his alleged blood are solemnly carried to the high altar 
of the cathedral, when the bottles being brought in contact 
with the head, the blood which they contain is believed to 
liquefy, and is elevated before the people as an object of ven- 
eration, and as a miracle to convince doubters of the truth of 
Christianity. 



Naples — The Wanton Beauty. 1S9 

The tradition exists that during the reign of Napoleon the 
priests intended to dispense with the miracle, in order to lead 
the people to believe that the saint was angry because of the 
usurpation of Napoleon. The emperor, however, ordered the 
priests to produce it, and they obeyed. A few of the three hun- 
dred churches, such as St. Paul or S. Martino, are interesting, 
but the majority are ordinary. 

I should have been grievously disappointed in Naples, ex- 
cept in its natural scenery, but for the astonishing treas- 
ures in the National Museum, which would make any city fa- 
mous. Everything capable of shedding light upon ancient 
Greek civilization, and upon the Roman world in the days of 
Pompeii and Herculaneum, can here be found: caskets, cook- 
ing utensils, weapons of war and gladiatorial combats, bronze 
figures without number, tripods, lamps, candelabra, primitive 
bas-reliefs, antique vases, marble slabs, drawings, elegant 
copies of celebrated sculptures and paintings of different 
epochs ; more than two thousand inscriptions, including curi- 
ous epitaphs; the Christian inscriptions from the catacombs 
of Rome and Naples, and especially the collection of marble 
sculptures, containing hundreds of identified statues of the great 
men of Greece and Rome. The bust of Homer is declared to 
be "the finest of all the ideal representations of the blind 
bard." Burckhardt speaks of it as having given him the high- 
est idea of Grecian sculpture, and declares that "the aged 
brow and cheek are instinct with supernatural mental effort 
and prophetic inspiration." He adds, that these are combined 
"with that perfect serenity which ever characterizes the 
blind." If this refers to the expression, observations in blind 
asylums have led me to the conclusion that it is sadness rather 
than serenity which is seen upon their countenances; if to 
their dispositions, I have not found reason to think that seren- 
ity is a special attribute of the blind. 

Among the statues are those of Seneca, Brutus, Cicero, 
Alexander the Great, Euripides, Demosthenes, Socrates, and 
Herodotus. An American who attached much importance 
to physiognomy was in the museum on the same occasion, 
and spoke of the harmony existing between the characters of 
these men and the expressions given to their countenances by 



190 Travels in Three Continents. 

the artists. But, alas for his theory, " many of the busts, both 
Greek and Roman, are either unknown or erroneously named." 

The Pompeian antiquities and objects of art are of almost in- 
credible number and variety. We lingered among these a long 
time, especially over the cabinets containing articles of food 
and utensils in common use at Pompeii. There is a bottle of 
oil; a double pan with meat; a glass vessel with barley; a tube 
of olives; loaves of bread, one of which has stamped upon it 
the baker's name, Celer, slave of Q. Granius Verus; grain, 
nuts, pears, figs, onions, most of which would grow if planted, 
and honeycomb. The collection of coins, equally full, is 
arranged so as to display the Greek, the Roman, the Mediaeval, 
and the Neapolitan; there are many ancient jewels from 
Herculaneum and Pompeii, of gold, pearls, and precious stones; 
chain, bracelets, and pair of earrings found with a female skele- 
ton in one of the houses of Pompeii; and ancient terra cottas 
from the same mine of antiquity. 

The Aquarium has the advantage of situation so far south 
on the Mediterranean, and is unrivaled, containing various 
species of living coral, several varieties of electric fish, which 
visitors are allowed to touch, a monstrous devilfish, and other 
marine monsters. It is under the charge of the Zoological 
Station, supported by naturalists in all parts of the globe. 
The governments of Europe and various universities make 
an annual contribution of about thirteen thousand dollars, 
in return for which naturalists from those countries are per- 
mitted the facilities of the institution for the prosecution of 
investigations. 

The peculiarities of the Neapolitan people, which have 
caused them to be slightingly spoken of for ages, need care- 
ful treatment; for the slander of a city is doing by wholesale 
what speaking evil of individuals does by retail. The nar- 
rowness of the streets and the open-air life of the poorer 
classes is a feature of oriental rather than of European life, 
and is the result of the southern climate, in which the inhab- 
itants of cities need the protection from the blazing sun afforded 
by high and close walls. Vice and virtue are crowded together, 
and shame, the outpost of morals, has little opportunity for 
development among the lower orders. 



Naples — The Wanton Beauty. 191 

From infancy they make public those things which should 
be kept private. Pagan vices have been perpetuated as no- 
where else, and what was charged by St. Paul against the old 
Roman world has been committed by the vicious from his day 
until now. 

But what of the morals of the middle and higher classes ? I 
shall not make baseless charges or affirm that the tales of 
Boccaccio and La Fontaine concerning Neapolitan morality 
are as applicable now as when they were written. It was a 
just rebuke to a writer who affirmed that all the women of 
Paris are frivolous and false, "If it were so, how could you 
know?" But a lightness of disposition, which makes pleasure 
the end of life, is characteristic of the people. Its effects 
are everywhere evident in the ostentatious splendor of deco- 
ration of the palaces of the nobility, and the houses of those 
who emulate them; in the vanity and coquettish spirit of women 
of all classes; in the terrible testimony of official statistics; in 
the pictures that are most popular; the ideals of art most influ- 
ential; and in the plays and style of acting most in vogue. A 
common remark is that the women of Naples are the chief 
source of its moral and social corruption, but it is impossible 
for women generally to be bad where men are good. 

The climate favors luxury and effeminacy. "The energy 
and strength of the most powerful nations have invariably 
succumbed to this alluring influence. Greeks, Oscans, Ro- 
mans, Goths, Byzantines, Normans, Germans, and Spaniards 
have in succession been masters of the place, yet it has rarely 
attained even a transient reputation in the annals of politics, 
art, or literature." I observed strong resemblances between 
the people of Seville and Naples, yet there is one marked 
difference. Naples is a lively, bustling place; whether one 
go among the finer business streets, into the region of small 
shops, or to the quays, all is life and activity. One thing 
should be said, Naples is not as bad as it once was; at least, 
a decent regard to the sentiment of the age has led to the 
concealment of many things Avhich travelers of thirty or fifty 
years ago described as shamefully public. And other cities 
have become worse. I believe that to-day Naples is as moral 
as Vienna. 



192 Travels in Three Continents. 

" Vedi Napoli e pot mori." 

"See Naples, and then die!" Yea, I have seen Naples and 
shall die, and so will those who do not see it. The signifi- 
cance of this vain proverb is that, after having seen Naples, 
there is no hope of seeing anything so fine in this world. But 
beautiful as sunset is on the Bay of Naples, it did not sur- 
pass, if it equaled, one that I enjoyed on Lake Champlain. 

In the United States we have a thousand beauteous lakes 
and noble and pleasant bays in every variety of climate, but 
they are without the historic associations which have made 
Naples famous, nor are they accessible, as it is, to the peoples 
of many nations. 

Probably the greatest day in the history of Naples was the 
7th of October, i860, when, side by side, King Victor Emman- 
uel and Garibaldi entered Naples. Their names are perpetu- 
ated by the Cor so Garibaldi and the Cor so Vittorio Emanuele, 
the latter as a work of engineering is no mean accomplish- 
ment, being carried by windings and viaducts around the hills 
of St. Elmo and the Posilippo. The genuineness of Virgil's 
Tomb is doubtful, but we learn from his own works that he 
composed the Georgics and the ^Eneid on the Posilippo, where 
he had a villa. 

Our ride through the worst parts of the city left no room 
for wonder at the devastation of the plague nor at the preva- 
lence of vice; but in a short time the traveler will find Naples 
one of the cleanest municipalities upon the globe. Plans had 
then been adopted for the destruction of seven thousand 
houses and sixty-two churches in the most populous and squalid 
sections of the city. 

Among the objects to be destroyed were the monuments of 
twenty kings and sixty viceroys. Where more than a hundred 
and eighty thousand people, or six hundred to the acre, have 
been crowded, fine, broad streets will be laid out, and well- 
built houses erected. These improvements had been in con- 
templation ever since the awful cholera epidemic of 1884, but 
the final arrangements were not perfected until a few months 
before. I may add that twelve thousand laborers were set to 
work on the first day of July, 1889, and the improvements 
were expected to take four years. 



Vesuvius and Pompeii. 193 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
Vesuvius and Pompeii. 

Ascent of Vesuvius — At the Summit — History of the Volcano — Edge of the 
Crater — The Descent — Pompeii — Streets — Houses — Baths — Theater — 
Pathetic Discoveries. 

I had never seen in action a volcano which had been 
seriously destructive to the works or lives of men, and felt an 
intense curiosity to see Vesuvius, the most active volcano, 
standing in territory occupied by civilized man; the most de- 
structive and historically noteworthy, though by no means the 
loftiest; the most strikingly situated, frequently observed and 
investigated by science. 

While I was in Algiers a cable dispatch announced that 
Vesuvius showed signs of activity; and soon another stated 
that it was in a state of eruption. It was too much to ex- 
pect — and since none can foretell the results of its action, 
hardly the thing to desire — that the display should continue 
until our arrival. But at 10 o'clock, on our first evening in 
Naples, I stepped out upon the roof of the hotel and saw in 
the darkness what seemed like incessant flashes of heat light- 
ning rising perpendicularly, apparently within a few hundred 
yards. A guest informed me that it was the lurid light of 
Vesuvius, but the feeblest display which had been seen for 
many nights, owing to dense clouds. The next day was 
stormy, and not till the fourth was the weather suitable for an 
ascent. 

A railroad extends to within a hundred and fifty yards of the 
edge of the crater. It was out of order, whereof I was glad, 
for "though the spirit was willing the flesh was weak," and we 
might have yielded to the temptation to ride luxuriously to 
the summit. After going by train to the station, horses were 
procured near Torre Annunziata. Our route led across a 
plain three or four miles long, gradually ascending until a 
height of twenty-four hundred feet was attained. Much of it 



J 94 



Travels in Three Continents. 



was covered with grass, other parts being carefully cultivated. 
All around were evidences of peaceful security, and only the 
mysterious crust of lava, heaps of slag, and loose ashes would 
suggest anything extraordinary. The cone rises twelve or 
fifteen hundred feet above the place where horses are left. 
It consists of disintegrated lava, ashes, and a material much 
like writing sand in color and appearance, and resembles an 
old-fashioned cone of loaf sugar. 




Vesuvius and Pompeii. 

To ascend is difficult, requiring an hour and a quarter of la- 
borious climbing. Subterranean detonations, resembling dis- 
tant thunder and causing a perceptible trembling of the earth, 
made it impossible not to realize that we were walking over 
fiery abysses and approaching "the Forge of Vulcan." 

Dense masses of smoke and hot vapors of a sulphurous 
odor rendered the summit invisible. As we drew nearer these 
vapors burst at our feet from fissures in the lava. Suddenly the 
guide, hastening forward a few feet, declared that this was the 
work of the last twenty-four hours. There upon the earth 



Vesuvius and Pompeii. 195 

was the fresh yellow discharge, still too hot to be taken up in 
the hand. I supposed it to be sulphur, but found it to consist 
of lava colored by chloride of iron. That which I brought 
away turned black within six hours. 

Lines of demarcation were easily traced between the lava 
deposits of different eruptions. The rocks were sooty and 
would crumble easily. The effect of the eruptions changes the 
height of the mountain, which varies from thirty-nine hundred 
to forty-three hundred feet. The ancient summit was de- 
stroyed in the first recorded outbreak. We paused a moment 
for rest before the final ascent to the edge of the crater. The 
smoke was suffocating, unpleasantly affecting our throats and 
innermost parts of the breathing apparatus, and it was as dark 
as a London fog. 

During that pause I reviewed the history of this mountain of 
terror. In the time of Augustus it was merely conjectured, 
from the ashes on the summit, that it might have been a 
volcano, but that, if so, its fires were extinct. In 63 and 
64 A. D. fearful earthquakes destroyed that hope. But on 
August 24, 79, took place that appalling eruption, the first 
recorded, which destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii and af- 
frighted the world. Down to the year 1500 nine eruptions are 
recorded; since that period more than fifty. From 1500 to 
1 63 1 it was so quiet that the mountain was covered with trees 
and cattle grazed within the crater. Then came an outburst 
which threw stones fifteen miles, one of them twenty-five tons 
in weight; seven streams of lava poured from the summit; three 
thousand persons perished. In 1707 Naples was covered with 
dense showers of ashes. In 1779 red-hot stones weighing a 
hundred pounds were hurled two thousand feet into the air. In 
1 86 1 there was a frightful outbreak, witnessed by eminent 
scientists. Ten years later Vesuvius discharged a stream of 
lava a thousand yards wide and twenty feet deep, and sent up 
smoke mingled with red-hot stones four thousand feet, and 
clouds of ashes to twice that height. Sometimes the ashes 
have been found as far away as Constantinople. 

Girding ourselves for the remaining task, we pressed forward 
to the edge of the crater, the heat of the surface upon which we 
walked becoming so intense as to threaten the destruction of 
11 



196 Travels in Three Continents. 

our boots. At last the full terror and splendor of the scene 
was before us. High in the air were hurled stones, ten or 
fifteen feet in diameter, accompanied by ashes and smoke, 
which, as they rose and fell back into the crater, seemed the 
result of sudden successive explosions. With the high wind 
caused by the heat, the black masses of aqueous vapor, the 
smoke, the vivid light, the roar, and the spectacle of these 
stones rising hundreds of feet, it was vividly suggestive of 
doomsday. Yet in comparison with the premonitory earth- 
quakes, day turned into night, the extraordinary agitation of 
the sea, dense clouds overhanging land and sea riven by in- 
cessant flashes of lightning, the emission of fire and ashes, the 
descent of streams of lava, and the universal terror of man as 
described by Pliny in a letter to the historian Tacitus, what we 
saw must have been but as the overture before the full swell 
of Pluto's chorus. 

There is always danger. Not long before we were there a 
gentleman was struck by a stone and seriously injured. In 
1854 a young German approaching too near the shelving 
brink, exposed himself to the fumes, lost his footing, fell in, 
and was killed. 

The volcano is to-day, as it has been through the ages, the 
king of physical terrors, and one of the unsolved mysteries of 
science. A common working hypothesis is that volcanoes are 
connected with the waters of the sea; that the vast quantities 
of steam result from the contact of the water with burning 
liquids, and that the earthquakes are caused by expanding 
gases. 

The descent of the cone was accomplished in ten minutes, 
although we sank above our knees in the black, disintegrated 
lava; but so steep was the declivity that gravity pushed us 
down upon a rapid run. The long line of catastrophes has not 
deterred the inhabitants from rebuilding their towns. 

Before going to Pompeii I had visited the museum already 
described ; for the most valuable frescoes, as well as nearly all 
the ornamental paintings, tomb inscriptions, bronzes, busts 
and statuettes, armor, helmets and weapons, vases, household 
utensils, lamps, candelabra, musical and surgical instruments, 
scales and weights, mirrors, ink holders, bells, compasses, 



Vesuvius and Pompeii. 197 

coins, cut gems, gold and silver objects — in fact, everything 
found in Herculaneum and Pompeii had been removed there. 

Pompeii, though so old, was never large. It was on a 
river near the sea, and had much inland commerce. Earth- 
quakes, volcanic eruptions, and other convulsions of nature 
have separated it from both sea and river. It was long pros- 
perous and a popular resort of the Romans. Its first shock 
was in 63, when by an earthquake a large part of it was de- 
stroyed. Being rebuilt in the then modern style, sixteen years 
subsequently it was utterly destroyed. The destruction was 
not by lava, but by ashes and red-hot fragments of pumice stone. 
The whole can be told in a few words: " The first premonitory 
symptom was a dense shower of ashes, the stratum of which 
covered the town to the depth of about three feet. . . . The 
ashes were followed by a shower of red-hot rappili, or pumice 
stone, of all sizes, which covered the town to the depth of seven 
or eight feet, and was succeeded by fresh showers of ashes, and 
again by rappili. " This completely enveloped the city. After 
the first shower the inhabitants escaped, but many returned, 
and it is supposed that two thousand were lost. Excavations 
were carried on irregularly for a long time, but of late years 
with scientific thoroughness. 

Little more than half the place has been excavated, yet the 
work has been done so beautifully that the town seems like a 
picture artistically painted upon a horizontal wall. We walked 
along the streets as the inhabitants walked; we entered their 
houses by the doors through which they passed, and went from 
room to room as one might go through houses offered for 
rental. The streets that have pavements are not more than 
eight yards wide, the alleys from ten to fourteen feet. They 
are paved with blocks of lava. The ruts made by the wagons 
and the impressions of the horses' hoofs still remain. Some 
of the streets, as in modern cities, were devoted to shops and 
stores. In the finer avenues are large buildings occupied by 
their owners, the lower stories of which were rented as shops. 
Little glass was used, therefore most of the houses presented 
blank walls to the streets. 

I noticed the similarity between these houses and those of 
the Moors in Algiers and Morocco. Like those, these were 



iq8 Travels in Three Continents. 

built with internal courts, providing the chambers fronting 
upon them with light; the roof sloped inward and had an open- 
ing in the center; there was a court, the middle of which was 
laid out as a garden, and beyond were servants' rooms, to 
whom also the upper floor appears to have been given. The 
public buildings include temples, theater, forum, and baths. 

The archaeologists in charge of the excavations have been 
compelled to name the streets and public buildings, and have 
done so with excellent taste. The baths are elaborate, con- 
taining marble basins for washing the hands and face with cold 
water, others for warm water, baths for women, chambers for 
disrobing. The customhouse, several bake houses, and the 
residence of a surgeon have been identified. 

The principal theater is perfectly preserved, and would seat 
five thousand persons, the amphitheater twenty thousand. 
The aspect of the buildings is that of a very prosperous town. 
Many of the baths and larger rooms of the houses are fres- 
coed in a style still pleasing. Here is no life, yet it is not 
a cemetery. When men die one by one successors speed- 
ily occupy their places of abode and business, so that the 
city continues. It is here rather as if a population had 
been spirited away and a horde of vandals had denuded their 
dwellings. 

It has been common to speak of Pompeii as an excessively 
wicked city, and of its destruction as a judgment, and extrava- 
gant tales have been told of the evidences of the grossest 
licentiousness which the excavations have revealed. I have 
seen these remains, but find no evidence that this was any 
worse than hundreds of other ancient cities, and think the 
idea that the town was given up to the lowest forms of wick- 
edness contrary to all the presumptions. It would be possible 
to collect from the depraved sections of several American 
cities as many evidences of bestiality relatively to the popula- 
tion in those quarters as were found in Pompeii. The houses 
generally were as free from objectionable decorations and in- 
scriptions as those of similar classes to-day. Naples — as vile 
as Pompeii ever was — and hundreds of other towns have 
sinned for ages undestroyed. 

Pompeii was destroyed by natural causes. It might have 



Vesuvius and Pompeii. 199 

been ruined if the center of all the piety known to the ancient 
world: or those upon whom the ashes and lava of Vesuvius 
fell and slew them, think you that they were sinners above all 
the men that dwelt in Italy? The voice of Him who never 
misinterpreted natural events maybe heard saying: "I tell 
you, Nay." The lesson of Pompeii is the simple lesson of 
the uncertainty of life. 

Pathetic indeed were the scenes revealed by the excava- 
tions. In the Villa Diomedes is a vaulted cellar. Eighteen 
bodies of women and children who had provided themselves 
with food and gone down into the vault were found, half- 
buried in the ashes with their heads wrapped up. Near the 
garden door was the supposed proprietor, with the key in his 
hand; and beside him a slave bearing valuables and money. 
In the museum are casts of bodies just as they were found; 
one of a young girl with a ring on her finger. 

In one aspect Pompeii is of greater value than it would have 
been if it had continued to this day. In that case it would 
have undergone many changes, and, like Naples, would be 
practically a modern town. As it is, it affords the means of 
knowing what an ancient Roman town was. " The earth with 
faithful watch has hoarded all." I obtained in three hours a 
clearer idea of old Roman domestic life than the reading of a 
lifetime had given me. 



2oo Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Italian People. 

Excitability — Vanity — Superstition — Patience — Simplicity — Improvement — 
Ignorance — Loretto — Religious Relics and Alleged Miracles — Work of 
Protestants— Opposition Encountered. 

The Italians are imaginative, and of extreme sensibility, 
living like players upon a stage, doing everything in high- 
pitched dramatic style. Their gestures are vehement and 
numerous, and their demonstrations graceful, but verging upon 
the boisterous. To music, art, etiquette, display, they are 
always responsive. They are lovers of fine dress, and expend 
an undue proportion of means upon it. 

They are nearly as excitable as the Spaniards, especially in 
the South, but differ from them in not being indolent, as the 
Italian cannot sit all day doing nothing. They are passionate, 
but not so vindictive as is generally supposed. The terrible 
and truthful tales of the Italian vendetti, the typical assassins 
of implacable revenge, transmitted from father to son and to 
next of kin, continuing until one or both of the hostile clans 
are annihilated, do not apply to the whole population any- 
where, nor does the custom extend to all parts of the country. 

Like all people accustomed to display, they are vain, and 
the cheap titles Avhich are so numerous contribute to and 
stimulate it. They are not so volatile as the French, and have 
more genuineness; politeness is less a matter of fencing, or of 
effort to say the most and to mean the least. 

Superstition is common, oscillating between fatalism and 
credulous belief in signs, omens, and all sorts of supernatural 
fancies, and mingling with it is a decidedly irreverent ten- 
dency. For example, the wine which was offered to us in 
our visits to Vesuvius and Pompeii is called Lacrimce Christi — 
the tears of Christ. 

Strange as it may seem to some, I am inclined to the 
opinion that the Italians have a kind of oriental patience, and 



The Italian People. 201 

are not a specially turbulent people. I might go further and 
say that underneath their vehemence and the violence of 
their gesticulations there is considerable genuine loyalty to law. 
A circumstance occurred while we were at Rome that illus- 
trates this trait. Large numbers of the peasantry had been 
brought into the city to do certain work. The contractors 
failing to keep them employed, they were thrown on their own 
resources, and suffered for want of food until their condition 
became intolerable. Appealing in vain to the government, 
they rose and went through the streets demolishing windows, 
and for a few hours it appeared as though Rome was at the 
mercy of a mob. But they did no wanton destruction beyond 
what has been stated. Their object was to draw the attention 
of the whole people to their condition, and by their moder- 
ation, which would hardly have characterized a similar mob in 
most other nations, they excited sympathy. Government 
action was taken; many were sent home, others employed, 
and arrangements made for payment. 

Many things led me to think that the peasantry of Italy 
have almost a childish simplicity and subservience, from 
which they depart only under transient excitement; then their 
passions are terrible, because like those of children in ex- 
citability and defective self-control, and those of men in 
strength. 

These comments are general. Among thirty millions of 
Italian population are hundreds of thousands that might serve 
as models in every particular in the points of unfavorable criti- 
cism mentioned. It should be added that improvement is 
taking place. Mr. Gladstone has written his impressions of 
the difference between thirty-nine years ago, the occasion of 
his last visit, and 1889, in the Nineteenth Century, and, with- 
out knowing by observation anything about what he saw on 
the former occasion, his representations of the vast improve- 
ment are confirmed by the facts. No nation is improving 
more rapidly than Italy. The Italian quarter in New York 
city is worse than any that I saw in the country whence those 
immigrants come. Open-air life in Italy is less favorable to 
the accumulation of filth than the necessarily confined situ- 
ation in which are placed the poorer classes who come to 



202 Travels in Three Continents. 

the United States; nor do we see in this country many of the 
better classes of the peasantry. 

Several conditions may be relied upon to foster the spirit of 
improvement: the freedom of the press — wholly unknown in 
Italy until within a few years — and the increasing circulation 
of cheap publications. So many of these are ephemeral and 
fictitious that it has been truthfully said that the average 
Italian would rather "enjoy a fiction than know a fact." Others 
are historical, geographical, literary, hygienic, and an increas- 
ing proportion of these are bought by the people. 

Notwithstanding the just claim of Italy in sculpture, archi- 
tecture, and painting, in music and poetry, and the number of 
universities, the immense majority of the inhabitants are very 
ignorant, and to this day the greater part remain without even 
the rudiments of education. The Italian government is mak- 
ing strenuous efforts to improve the intellectual life of the 
country. The press is absolutely free. Perhaps in no part of 
Europe is it more so. Unfortunately, it is largely in the 
hands of freethinkers, many of them Jews, so that an infidel 
spirit is plainly discernible in most of the papers, especially 
those generally read. Many lawyers and professional men 
are freethinkers, not a few of whom, for political purposes, 
remain in the Church. There can be little doubt that the 
spirit of unbelief is rapidly spreading among Italians, more par- 
ticularly among the men. 

At Verona is exhibited, for the edification of the pious and 
the gratification of the curious, the skin of an ass. It is af- 
firmed that this is the skin of the animal on which our Lord 
rode, and that the ass, after having had such an illustrious 
rider, refused ever to bear another. He made his way to 
Venice, where he rang the bell of a convent. As the porter 
did not recognize him, he kept on to Verona, and there rang 
a bell, was instantly recognized, admitted, lived a long and 
holy life, died in the odor of sanctity, and his skin is preserved 
and exhibited as incontrovertible evidence of the truth of the 
account. 

There is a town called Loretto, fifteen miles from Ancona, 
which originated thus : The Empress Helena, the mother of 
Constantine, made a pilgrimage to the house of the Virgin 



The Italian People. 203 

at Nazareth, in the year 336, and built a church over it. 
The church decayed, and then the Casa Santa was mirac- 
ulously transplanted by the hands of angels, in 1291, to a 
point on the coast of Dalmatia. It remained there undis- 
turbed three years, when it was transplanted by angels, during 
the night, to the spot where it now is, and placed on the 
ground of a widow named Laureta, where it was inclosed in a 
church, and a city has sprung up around it. The place con- 
sists principally of a single long street, full of booths for the 
sale of rosaries, medals, and images. A half million pilgrims 
go there annually. 

In the Church of St. Paul Without the Walls I saw hun- 
dreds kissing the chain with which St. Paul was bound, and 
afterward visited the Church of the Three Fountains, built at 
the spot where St. Paul is said to have been executed. It is 
claimed that when his head was cut off it made three distinct 
leaps, and immediately there sprang up three fountains. The 
church stands on the very spot, and contains the springs. The 
Trappist monks having charge of the place peddle rosaries 
and eucalyptus liquor at ten cents a glass. 

On the way to the catacombs we entered a little chapel, 
where a monk showed us a marble slab on which Christ stood 
and turned Peter back, when he met him running away from 
Rome. The mark of our Lord's feet is there, an eighth of an 
inch deep, imprinted "as if the cold pavement were a sod." 
From the statue of Christ, near by, the pilgrims have kissed 
away one foot, and notwithstanding they possess the impress 
of the divine, they have restored in bronze the foot, and have 
not followed the sacred pattern. In one case the great toe 
is much longer than the second toe, in the other consider- 
ably shorter. 

The religious work done by Protestants is prosecuted by 
several sects, of which the larger number are of foreign ori- 
gin. But the Waldensians stand first numerically, and, his- 
torically considered, are entitled to honor for their stanch 
adherence to Protestant principles. It is as noble a chapter 
as the annals of Christian heroism contain. They have more 
than four thousand communicants in Italy proper, but are not 
aggressive. On account of their methods their rate of prog- 



204 Travels in Three Continents. 

ress always has been, and must of necessity be, slow. The 
Free Church has less than two thousand communicants, and 
from the beginning has been more a political than a religious 
movement. Gavazzi, their great orator and patriot, died 
while I was in Italy, and the memorial addresses and services 
were proceeding in the different cities during most of my stay 
in the country. He hoped that the Waldensians and the Free 
Church would unite, and that the body would take the name 
of the Evangelical Church of Italy. Since the failure of this 
proposition the Free Church has made little progress. Be- 
sides these, there are six hundred English and American Bap- 
tists, about fifteen hundred Presbyterians, and the English and 
American Methodists. The Plymouth Brethren also do a 
limited work. 

Other forms of Christianity encounter immense difficulties 
in Italy. The poor Italian says within himself: "How can I 
succeed if the Church is against me ? When I am old who will 
take care of me ? Can I die under the ban of the Church, and 
leave my wife and children to mourn me as a lost soul? Can 
I be refused burial among my ancestors ? " Comparatively 
few are ready for such a sacrifice. 



Going Down to Egypt. 205 



CHAPTER XXV. 
Going Down to Egypt. 

Brindisi — Coast of Greece — Candia — Gaudo — Coast of Egypt — Arriving in 
Alexandria — Pharos — View of City and Harbor from the Base of Pompey's 
Pillar — Site of Cleopatra's Needles — Journey to Cairo. 

At Naples our party of two became three by the addition of 
an old friend, Dr. C. F. P. Bancroft, Principal of Phillips An- 
dover Academy, Massachusetts, who, in accordance with pre- 
vious arrangements, joined us there. Rising at daylight on 
the second of February, .we rode several hundred miles over 
mountains and plains, through olive orchards, tunnels, among 
aqueducts, impressive ruins, and in sight of villages situated 
high on mountain sides, flourishing towns, populous cities, 
castles, cathedrals, battlefields, which kept eye and mind busy- 
through the long day, until, in the shades of evening, we 
caught a glimpse of the Adriatic as we rolled into the station 
of Brindisi, where we spent a quiet Sabbath. The chief relics 
of antiquity are near the hotel, and consist of a high column of 
Greek marble, with an ornate capital, and the remains of an- 
other pillar. 

On the morning of February 4 we sailed for Egypt on the 
Peninsular and Oriental steamship Hydaspes. One half the 
passengers were English, one third American, and the 
remainder of different nationalities. Early the next morning 
the coast of Greece appeared, and we ran within sight of 
it for twenty-four hours. The irregular masses of the Morea 
first burst upon our vision, and beyond them the lofty moun- 
tains of Arcadia. 

Some of the passengers claimed to identify Mount St. Elias, 
the highest point in the Morea; but while they dogmatized I 
doubted, as its appearance would overthrow all the geogra- 
phies in the world. We sailed so close to Navarino, where 
was fought the great battle between Ibrahim Pasha and the 
allied forces of England, France, and Russia, which was 



206 Travels in Three Continents. 

undoubtedly preliminary and essential to the independence of 
Greece, that we could have followed the evolutions of a regi- 
ment with the naked eye. 

For hours we were within sight of Candia (ancient Crete). 
An old traveler familiar with the island assured us that St. 
Paul's words concerning the Cretans, which he quotes from 
one of their own writers, " The Cretans are always liars, evil 
beasts, slow bellies," are as true of the people now as then. 
The island belongs to Turkey, but three fourths of the popu- 
lation are Greek and belong to the Greek Church. 

Luke's account of his voyage with Paul along the same coasts 
says that they meant to winter in one of the ports of Crete, and 
thought they could do so, owing to favorable winds, " but not 
long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called 
Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could 
not bear up, . . . running under a certain island which is 
called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat." 
Clauda (Gaudo) now has a revolving light, which stands on 
the summit of the island eleven hundred and eighty-one feet 
above the sea. We saw this light, which flashes once a minute, 
at a distance of twenty miles. 

After four days of fine weather and smooth seas, the long 
sandy coast of Egypt appeared about daybreak in dim outline. 
In the best light the highest parts only are visible eighteen 
miles away, but the general coast line cannot be seen until the 
vessel is within twelve or fourteen miles. The passengers 
were all on deck, and soon were seen the breakwater, with 
its lighthouse, the forts, the ruined palace of Said Pasha, the 
quarries from which the stone was brought to construct the 
breakwater, stretching away to the westward until those are 
reached from which the stone was taken to build the ancient 
city. The cove was pointed out near which Napoleon landed 
his troops July i, 1798, in order to march on Alexandria. 
Ships now go up to the pier, and no such difficulties with 
boatmen as former travelers complained of were experienced 
by us. 

I was landing in Egypt, " the cradle of history and of human 
culture," of which Herodotus, in words which have been used 
a thousand times to introduce books,, essays, letters, and lee- 



Going Down to Egypt. 207 

tures upon Egypt, said four hundred and fifty-six years before 
Christ: " It contains more wonders than any other land, and 
is prominent above all the countries in the world for works 
that one can hardly describe." When General Grant, after his 
tour around the world, met Andrew D. White, ex-President 
of Cornell University, he said to him: "After Egypt there is 
nothing." 

I was also in Alexandria, a name which causes one to think 
of him who founded it to be the emporium of the world; of its 
rapid prosperity as a commercial center through which "the 
lucrative trade of Arabia and India flowed to the capital and 
provinces of the empire;" of its schools, its grammarians, 
philosophers, astronomers, physicians, poets, orators. In 
Alexandria the Septuagint was made, and to its museum and 
libraries students flocked from every land. Alexandria was not 
only the chief factor in the world's early intellectual growth; 
it was historically related to the development of Christianity 
as no other city. It was because of the dispute between Alex- 
ander, the patriarch of Alexandria, and Arius, that the Council 
of Nice was convened, which settled for the orthodox Church 
the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ. Athanasius here 
fulfilled the order of his course as a deacon, and after he had 
persuaded the Council of Nice by his eloquence, entered upon 
a stormy career as bishop, and here, after being deposed, ban- 
ished, and restored several times, he died in peace. 

From having sunk to a population of five thousand Alex- 
andria has of late years increased to a quarter of a million and 
again become important. The ruins are so few and accessible 
that there is nothing to detain the traveler long. The site of 
the ancient Pharos, one of the seven wonders of the world, 
claims the first place, though no ruins remain. It was a light- 
house constructed of white marble, several stories high, each 
successive story diminished in size, and having a gallery 
around it supported on the outer circle of the story beneath. 
Near the spot is a castle now known as Fort Pharos. Pom- 
pey's Pillar is of beautiful red granite, and stands on a 
height whose name is derived from the Roman Prefect Pom- 
peius, who erected it in honor of Diocletian. 

A fine view of the city and harbor is obtained from the base 



208 Travels in Three Continents. 

of the monument, which was probably the highest ground in 
the ancient city. Near it is a Mohammedan cemetery, and we 
met two long funeral processions. There seemed a solemnity 
and a weirdness not unmingled with pathos in the monotonous 
chants and wailings of the mourners, who elevated above 
their heads the uncoffined body upon a kind of bier, and passed 
along seemingly oblivious of their surroundings. We rever- 
ently took off our hats, but noticed that the passing Egyptians 
paid no attention to the ceremonies. Funerals are so numer- 
ous in all the cities of Egypt as to suggest the prevalence of 
an epidemic; men come to regard them as ordinary scenes. 

We made a journey to the site formerly occupied by Cleo- 
patra's Needles, but did not see them, for the sufficient 
reason that one is in London, and the other in Central Park, 
in the city of New York. Originally they were erected at 
Heliopolis, and were transported to Alexandria in the eighth 
year of Augustus. In the year 1800 one was standing, and 
the other fallen. The latter was given to the English by 
Mohammed Ali, but was not moved till 1877, when the late 
Professor Erasmus Wilson and another gentleman furnished 
the money. It was encased in an iron cylinder and rolled into 
the sea, fitted up with a rudder, deck house, and cabin, named 
the Cleopatra, and taken in tow by a steamer. Encoun- 
tering many storms, it was abandoned in the Bay of Biscay, 
but was finally found, towed to London, and in October, 1878, 
set up on the Thames embankment. The other was presented 
to the government of the United States by Ismail Pasha, and 
was erected in Central Park January 22, 1881. 

An English writer thus speaks of the removal of these mon- 
uments: "Some may be of opinion that it would have been 
a more noble monument to England had this buried obelisk 
been reerected beside its fellow on its native soil ; but few will 
hesitate to stamp as sacrilege the removal of the remaining one 
from the place where it had so long stood and its transport to 
the United States." Here in perfection is the art of putting 
things! If the removal of most of the many remains of an- 
tiquity from their original sites for purposes of science or 
ornamentation or popular interest is to be branded as sacrilege, 
there is scarce an ancient temple or mediaeval structure that 



Going Down to Egypt. 209 

ought not to have the word fraud inscribed upon it, and that 
noble institution, the British Museum, which has done so much 
for the education of the modern world, should be entitled 
"The Depository of the Results of Sacrilegious Plunder." 
Egypt has ruins enough and to spare, though the present 
jealousy of foreign explorers and travelers can be trusted to 
protect all existing remains of importance. 

Toward evening we left the city by the express train for 
Cairo, distant one hundred and twenty-eight miles. 

Around Alexandria are well-cultivated gardens, and the 
whole country, profusely irrigated, appears fruitful and flour- 
ishing. Long lines of camels could be seen on the banks of 
the canal and of the Nile, and processions of donkeys heavily 
laden. The most diverting of these scenes was a string of 
twenty camels tied together, preceded by a diminutive donkey 
which piloted the procession, as a steam tug sometimes takes 
out to sea an ocean steamer a hundred times larger than 
itself. Cotton fields; wide expanses of grass; distant villages, 
built of mud and placed on heights to escape the annual 
floods, surrounded by palms, minarets gracefully rising above 
them; hundreds of men, women, and children on foot; crowds 
in picturesque costumes at all the stations, made a splendid 
panorama which introduced to us Egyptian life and manners. 

At length the walls of Cairo appeared, and soon the train shot 
into the station. The railroad over which we traveled was the 
first built in the Orient, and dates from 1855. The great 
Stephenson was the engineer, and it was his plan by this road, 
together with an extension from Cairo to Suez, to meet the 
commercial needs which the Suez Canal effectually supplies. 



Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 
Cairo— The "Mother of the World," and Heliopolis. 

Strange Scenes — Citadel and Mosque of Mohammed Ali — Mosque of Sultan 
Hassan — Mosque of Amer at Old Cairo — Island of Roda — Nilometer — 
Palace of Gezireh and of the Khedive — The Only Egyptian Lunatic Asylum 
— Virgin's Tree — Heliopolis — Ostrich Farm. 

As soon as possible we plunged into the street and were 
absorbed in the ceaseless crowd. The streets are narrow and 
irregular, and of sidewalks there are none worthy the name in 
the principal Arab quarters. Donkeys and camels without 
number are forcing their way through. Different races of men, 
with their costumes and cries, move in and out; a wild mas- 
querade dance is the only figure of speech which will convey 
any idea of the scene. Loud, hoarse, and dissonant yells in 
languages unlike those of Europe, threaten with rupture the 
tympanum of every foreign ear. 

The barber shops are open to the street, and in the course of 
a few hours' walk a hundred barbers could be seen rapidly 
shaving the heads of their customers. Men run in advance of 
coaches and by the side of donkeys. With these are mingled 
camels, whose drivers are constantly yelling to persons to get 
out of the way. They specify the part of the body in danger 
of collision, uttering, in Arabic, such directions as, "Your left 
side," "Your right side, girl," "Your back, lady." Water 
carriers work their way about, a few selling the water, but the 
majority giving it, being paid by some one who tells them to 
do so. They utter cries equivalent to " May God recompense 
me ! " When they are accompanied by their employers they 
ejaculate, "God forgive thy sins!" Instead of calling the 
names of their vegetables, those who sell them use such 
expressions as, "God will make thee light, O lemons!" 
meaning that he will make the baskets that hold them light. 
Wandering cooks go about setting up their kitchens any- 
where, and cook fish, puddings, and whatever they have, 



Cairo and Heliopolis. 211 

while their customers sit crosslegged along the side of the 
street. 

Nearly all the mechanics work with doors, and windows 
open, and many of them in the street. It is surprising 
to see what excellent work is done with primitive tools. 
Auctioneers run to and fro, calling out their wares and the 
last bids. Peddlers carry tables on their heads and set them 
up wherever they fancy. All is done in the best of humor, 
but with excessive voice and gesture. The vender of 
roses cries, "The rose was a thorn, but the sweat of the 
Prophet caused it to blossom." Beggars add to the confusion 
by screaming, "I am the guest of God and the Prophet;" 
and toward night, " My supper must be thy gift, O Lord." 
Here and there are rings of spectators witnessing feats of 
legerdemain. 

Amid all this a funeral procession may come, pushing its 
way through, preceded by camels bearing bread and water to 
give to the poor at the tomb, though this is not done when 
the deceased was poor. Singers follow chanting the usual 
formulas, then friends, and finally the promiscuous crowds. 
An astonishing snapping of whips goes on continually. 
Some sound almost as loud as pistol shots, and every one who 
has a whip does his best to make the loudest possible crack. 
The ordinary method of traveling about the city is upon 
donkeys. The person who hires a donkey mounts it, and the 
donkey boy runs by his side, never appearing in the least de- 
gree weary. 

These are but a few, taken almost at random, of the elements 
of the confusion. I should certainly have lost my head if I 
had not previously visited the stock exchanges in New York, 
London, Paris, and Hamburg. Unmoved amid all this are 
hundreds, sitting in the doors of the coffee houses, drinking 
coffee, or smoking peculiar pipes that have contrivances for 
the smoke to pass through water, and afterward to be drawn 
through tubes from six to ten feet in length. These loiterers 
look as serene as if upon the shady bank of a stream on 
a midsummer's day. 

Above the uproar, at certain hours, the cry of the muez- 
zin, from the minarets of the hundreds of mosques, falls upon 
12 



212 Travels in Three Continents. 

the ear, calling the people to prayer, and the majority 
respond; but few minutes are devoted to the act. In the 
bazaars many a dealer who does not happen to have a cus- 
tomer can be seen reading the Koran. The crowd rushes by, 
and this man sits crosslegged, not more than three feet from 
it, entirely absorbed in his devotional book, but is ready at 
a second's notice to drop it, his abstracted look disappearing, 
and a keen eye for a bargain taking its place. 

Turbans are quite a study. While Arabs from the earliest 
times have distinguished their religious divisions, families, and 
tribal connections by the color of their turbans, it is now im- 
possible to decide absolutely upon any general principle. The 
descendants of the Prophet, called Sherifs, wear green turbans, 
but they are now frequently worn by pilgrims to Mecca. Schol- 
ars and priests generally wear wide turbans of light color, and 
non-Mohammedans generally wear dark turbans; the Copts 
adopt the blue, and the Jews the yellow color; but even this, 
though dating from a decree four hundred years old, is no 
longer a certain method of identifying the wearer. It is stated 
that an orthodox turban worn by a Mohammedan is seven 
times as long as his head, so that it can be used as his winding 
sheet, and that wearing it may remind him of his mortality. 

The crowds that fill the streets where business is done would 
deceive a stranger as to the population of the city. When 
one steps out of these streets he finds few people during 
business hours; the women are in their houses, the men gone 
to their places of trade. In the middle of the day, if it is at 
all warm, traffic ceases as if by magic; but about two o'clock, 
the siesta being finished, the rush begins and continues until 
late in the afternoon. These scenes never palled nor grew 
monotonous during our various visits to Cairo. 

Having spent the first morning in the street, we went in 
the afternoon to the Citadel and the Mosque of Mohammed 
Ali, passing through the Ezbekij^eh, the finest public garden in 
the city. The citadel was built by the great Salaheddin, the 
site said to be selected merely because it was found that meat 
would keep fresh twice as long there as anywhere else. From 
it one has a view of the city, the desert, the distant Pyra- 
mids, " the City of the Tombs," the Nile, and the plains that 



Cairo and Heliopolis. 213 

neither words nor pencil can worthily present. Harriet Mar- 
tineau says: " I would entreat any stranger to see this view 
first in the evening before sunset." We saw it at this hour. 
She says that the city " looks a perfect wilderness of flat roofs, 
cupolas, minarets, and palm tops, . . . speaks of the fawn- 
colored domes of the City of Tombs rising against the some- 
what darker sand of the desert, and the river gleaming and 
winding away from the dim south into the blue distance of the 
north, the green strips of cultivation on its banks delighting 
the eye amid the yellow sands." Two mosques are connected 
with the citadel — the old mosque, now disused, and the Mosque 
of Mohammed Ali. The day was Friday, and after explor- 
ing the Mosque of Mohammed Ali we were obliged to retire 
on account of the approach of the hour of prayer, but had the 
opportunity of looking in at the windows. 

On this hill, March 1, 181 1, the famous order of Mamelukes 
was extinguished by a massacre ordered by Mohammed Ali; 
he had grown weary of their schemes against his authority, 
arranged for their massacre, and invited them to a reception. 
They were at that time the finest cavalry in the world, and did 
not suspect their fate. When they entered the fortification, as 
the portcullis fell behind the last, they saw their danger; four 
hundred and sixty of them and eight hundred more in the city 
were slaughtered. 

The Mosque of Sultan Hassan is considered the finest in 
Cairo, and one of the most superb monuments of Mohammed- 
an architecture. It is in a somewhat dilapidated condition, 
but evidences of its former grandeur are not lacking. It is 
built of blocks brought from the Pyramids. It has oftentimes 
served as a fortress, and in one spot is a dark stain of blood, 
of which the legend says that the Sultan slew with his own 
hand his unfaithful prime minister. A gloomy grandeur 
relieved only by the graceful minaret and the majestic arch is 
its chief characteristic. 

There are about two hundred and seventy mosques in Cairo, 
and more than two hundred chapels. In general terms, 
whether ancient Mameluke or Turkish, they consist of open 
courts, of a broad niche in the wall looking toward Mecca, a 
stone or wooden pulpit, a platform, a portico, a desk for the 



214 Travels in Three Continents. 

Koran, a tank for washing, a canopy supported by columns, a 
dome, a mausoleum, a minaret, and a tower resembling it, but 
not having balconies. Of the oldest style the Mosque of Amer 
at Old Cairo is a conspicuous example. We went to see it, on the 
way passing the aqueduct. It is held to be the most ancient 
mosque in Egypt, is three hundred and fifty feet square, and 
shows the original mosque plan, never having been a church. 
At the entrance is a single line of columns, at the sides 
three deep, and at the end six deep, amounting to nearly two 
hundred and fifty. One of the columns is said to have come 
there miraculously from Mecca. In one corner is the tomb of 
the founder, and in another a spring. The more superstitious 
Mussulmans think that this spring communicates with the 
holy well at Mecca, and state in proof that a pilgrim lost a 
ring in that well in Mecca, and afterward found it in this 
spring. This mosque in 1808 witnessed an extraordinary scene. 
At the usual time of the rising of the Nile it began to fall. 
The whole land was filled with dismay, and all the Moham- 
medan priesthood, the Latin, Greek, and Coptic clergy, in 
fact, the clergy of every Christian sect, and all the Jewish 
rabbis in Cairo assembled in this ancient mosque to pray for 
the rise of the water. Though the water rose, this union 
under stress did not destroy their ancestral hatred of each 
other. 

The island of Roda lies opposite Old Cairo, being separated 
from it by a narrow branch of the Nile. The Arabs declare 
it to be the site of the finding of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter; 
accordingly a beautiful palm on the island is called Moses' 
Tree. When the Nile rises to an unusual height the whole 
island is under water and boats sail across it. 

The Nilometer is a square chamber having a graduated 
pillar that rises from the bottom to the top. The scale meas- 
ures seventeen cubits, each twenty-seven and seven sixteenths 
of an inch long, but the regular cubit as now used in Cairo is 
only fourteen and one fourth. This Nilometer is supposed to 
have existed more than a thousand years. When we were 
there it showed the river to be within two feet of the lowest 
point, a fact of which we afterward had a very unpleasant 
demonstration. When the Nile begins to rise the fact is pro- 



Cairo and Heliopolis. 215 

claimed about the streets of Cairo by criers, each of whom has 
his district. It generally rises from twenty-one to twenty-six 
feet. It has been charged that the government sometimes 
"doctors the returns" in order to make plausible reasons for 
additional taxation. 

We were exceedingly fortunate in the courier obtained for 
Cairo and vicinity. His name was Mohammed Abdel Rah- 
man, and he proved the most competent conductor we found in 
all the East. Making no pretense beyond his knowledge, using 
few words, never obtruding nor contradicting, he was, what 
few professional guides are able or willing to be, silent when 
he saw that we were observing, conversing, or meditating. 

Cairo has numerous palaces besides other immense edifices, 
now devoted to other purposes, formerly occupied by different 
Khedives, or built for members of their families, wives, or 
concubines. We visited the palace of Gezireh, a building in- 
ternally attractive; the furniture consists in part of articles 
exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1867. The rooms are 
shown which were occupied by the Empress Eugenie when the 
Suez Canal was opened, and afterward by the Emperor of 
Austria; the blue room was elegantly upholstered from floor 
to ceiling in blue satin embroidered with gold. 

We also went to the palace occupied by the Khedive, and 
waited an hour to see him come forth for his afternoon drive. 
While his escorts were gaudily dressed and blazed with gilt 
and silk, and the runners with the carriage wore a uniform 
which rivaled the fantastic decorations of wandering acrobats, 
and would set the urchins of an American city wild, the Khe- 
dive was so plainly attired that he would have attracted no 
attention if walking in a European city. 

Some of our friends were invited to dine with him. Dinner 
was served at half past seven. The guests assembled at the 
palace and were ushered into a small reception room, when 
the consul of the United States and the chamberlains escorted 
the ladies up the grand staircase, passing between lines of 
soldiers on each side of the vestibule. The hall was decorated 
with tropical plants, and the palace brilliantly lighted. The 
Khedive received in his grand salon, in a cordial and easy 
manner, conversed with each separately, and never sat for an 



216 Travels in Three Continents. 

instant except at dinner. There were twenty-two guests. 
The band was so far removed as not to interfere with conver- 
sation, and, in compliment to the Americans, the first selec- 
tion which was played when they entered the dining room was 
"Yankee Doodle." There were several American dishes. 
The centerpiece for the table was a bed of roses and other 
flowers grown in the open air, though this was the month of 
January. There was nothing Egyptian about the palace or 
the menu. 

The Khedive was about thirty-five years old, and fine look- 
ing. He spoke English and French, drank only water, 
and did not smoke; but three kinds of wine were served for 
his guests. At the dinner his dress was the same as that of 
the other gentlemen. He wore no medals, nor was there any- 
thing to indicate that he was other than an ordinary person- 
age. When the guests returned to the salon coffee was served 
in Turkish cups, the holders being of solid gold studded with 
diamonds. 

The modern palaces in Cairo are thoroughly European. 
The Museum of Arabic Antiquities is a valuable and instruct- 
ive collection of treasures of Arab art. The ancient mosque 
chandeliers, magnificent brass tables, an extensive collection 
of brass lamps, some of the finest of which were made for the 
Mosque of Sultan Hassan, give the best view of the proficiency 
of the Arabs in special work. The name of Sultan Hassan is 
wrought in colored transparent letters on a light ground in the 
lamps. The Arabs place a high value upon manuscripts, 
everything connected with them and their preservation; this 
museum contains carved ivory bookstands divided into sec- 
tions; certain of the doors are inlaid with ivory. 

There is but one lunatic asylum in Egypt. To that is de- 
voted a building formerly a palace, which, with its surround- 
ing gardens, is admirably adapted to the purpose. I spent an 
afternoon there, and was courteously received by Dr. Abbas, 
the superintendent. Up to comparatively recent date the 
Mohammedans did not regard insanity a disease so much as a 
proof of divine inspiration. Lunatics were allowed to do al- 
most what they pleased : to run naked through the streets, to 
assault persons; and not until their actions became dangerous 



Cairo and Heliopolis. 217 

to human life were they restrained. This was traced to the early 
notions of the Christians, who believed all lunatics inspired 
by God or possessed of the devil. Forty years ago the few in- 
sane persons and idiots whom it was found necessary to restrain 
were left in dungeons, excavations, or mud huts, in squalor and 
wretchedness indescribable. Dr. Abbas is an Egyptian, but 
highly educated, having studied in Paris, and evidences of his 
familiarity with the approved methods of treating the insane 
were obvious. Not a picture or a book was visible in any of 
the rooms occupied by the patients. Everything was scrupu- 
lously clean, and as no artificial heat is requisite at any season 
of the year, the ventilation was perfect. 

It was not to gaze upon lunatics that I visited this institu- 
tion, but to ascertain what are the principal causes of mental 
derangement among the orientals. Many exhibit there, as 
elsewhere, a mere degeneration of stock. Their parents were 
feeble-minded, and by sinking one degree in the scale, they 
become non compos mentis. Others had been made insane by 
bereavement, loss of property, persecution, domestic trouble. 
The influence of the climate had affected some, but others 
were children of the best families, made lunatics by disease or 
vice. The evil habits which in Europe and America send so 
many to asylums are equally potent there; but the number 
insane from the use of alcohol is, relatively, very small. 

The Mohammedans are forbidden to drink wine or liquors, 
and while a small proportion do, the majority do not, or to a 
slight extent only, so that the doleful spectacle of a large 
number of dipsomaniacs, and of persons whose insanity was 
primarily caused by excessive use of alcohol, was not pre- 
sented to us here. 

Opium, however, had many more victims than we find in the 
United States; for the Mohammedans have endeavored to 
circumvent the prohibition of wine by addicting themselves to 
other means of producing intoxication or pleasurable excite- 
ment. They compound various mixtures of opium with other 
drugs, in such a way that one combination will cause the user 
to sing, another will set him to talking, a third to dancing, 
etc. The use of opium is not as common in Egypt as in coun- 
tries farther east. 



2i8 Travels in Three Continents. 

We saw two wards filled with victims of hasheesh, and the 
superintendent stated that it causes more lunacy in Egypt 
than opium and alcohol united. Hasheesh, a preparation of 
hemp similar to Cannabis indica, has been used from very ancient 
times. Herodotus speaks of it, and says that the Scythians 
intoxicated themselves in their religious ceremonies with the 
fumes of burning seeds of the plant. Lane traces it through 
India and Persia, and finds it in Egypt before the middle of 
the thirteenth century of the Christian era. 

When it is smoked the leaves are used alone or mixed with 
tobacco. The intoxicating preparations are made by employ- 
ing the capsules without the seeds mixed with various sub- 
stances. Hasheesh can be obtained at various coffee shops, 
and there are others which sell nothing but this and other in- 
toxicating preparations. Men become very drunk upon hash- 
eesh, and are frequently violent, and the doctor stated that 
insanity produced by it is difficult to cure, generally passing on 
to complete dementia. 

Our word assassin is derived from this word, noisy and riot- 
ous being called in the East hashshasheen. This name was 
first applied to Arab warriors in Syria during the Crusades, as 
they used this drug both to render their enemies insensible 
and to excite those appointed to slay them. 

The only disagreeable circumstance in our visit to the asylum 
was observation of the inadequate provisions for women. In- 
stead of separate rooms or wards, they are in one hall; all 
grades of insanity being in the same room. As I entered, a 
woman sprang from her bed, flew across the room almost with 
the rapidity of the wind, prostrated herself, and before 
the attendants could restrain her seized me by the foot. 
The poor creature was trying to kiss my foot, according to 
the oriental custom, preparatory to beseeching me to issue an 
order that she might go to see her children. Several others 
made friendly or hostile demonstrations. The female attend- 
ants, being obliged to conform to the Egyptian custom of keep- 
ing their faces covered, were embarrassed in their struggles 
with the lunatics, for frequently they were obliged to use one 
hand to prevent the pulling away of their face coverings. Dr. 
Abbas stated to us that he had applied to the government, 



Cairo and Heliopolis. 219 

and hoped to secure better accommodations for female pa- 
tients. 

The drive to Heliopolis, of an hour and a half, passed pal- 
aces, tombs, plantations of palms, orange, and lemon trees, 
barracks, the military school, and fine olive orchards. 

We paused at the Virgin's Tree, a magnificent sycamore 
which stands in a garden, so called because of a legend that 
the Holy Family rested beneath it. The Coptic sect has con- 
trol of it, but the Roman Catholics affirm that the original 
tree died in 1659, and that they have the last fragments of it 
in Cairo. It is claimed by the latter that the tree we saw was 
not planted till 1672. In this vicinity are the gardens in which 
Cleopatra planted the Balm of Gilead which, tradition says, 
was presented to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba. 

Alas for the glory of Heliopolis! styled by an English 
writer the ''Oxford of Old Egypt," the site of the supreme 
Temple of the Sun. There Plato and Solon studied for years, 
and Herodotus paused in his travels to collect the facts which 
give him the name of " Father of History." Heliopolis was 
the capital of lower Egypt, and is mentioned in the Bible under 
various names. Here Joseph lived, and married his wife, 
Asenath, the daughter of "Poti-pherah, the priest of On," and 
the mother of Manasseh and Ephraim. Josephus says that 
when the family of Jacob arrived in Egypt, their residence was 
given to them in On. Here the sun was worshiped, and here 
stood the most famous and ancient shrine in Egypt, with the 
exception of one in Memphis. But while they worshiped the 
sun they also worshiped cats and a white sow! In this temple 
the staff of priests and other officers numbered twelve thousand 
nine hundred and thirteen. Nothing remains of its glory and 
magnificence save the ruins of the outer wall and a single obe- 
lisk, which is the oldest in Egypt, dating from B. C. 1700 to 
2400, according to the chronology adopted. It is nearly 
perfect. 

Obelisks were always built in pairs, and in 11 90 an Arab doc- 
tor, of Bagdad, saw the other in two pieces; but it has long 
since disappeared. That solitary obelisk on which we looked 
was old when Abraham came down to Egypt, but the worship- 
ers of the sun, whose glory it commemorates, are extinct. 



220 Travels in Three Continents. 

From the ruins of Heliopolis we went to an ostrich farm. 
The ostrich is cultivated for his feathers, for which there is 
great demand wherever fashion rules and money is plenty. 
The eggs are artificially hatched. We went leisurely through 
the grounds, seeing the eggs in incubators, and by the agency 
of light applied by a peculiar process the growth of the bird 
within could be discerned, and the soundness of the egg could 
easily be ascertained. Afterward we saw ostriches of every 
age, from twelve days and upward, and no creature is more 
grotesque and amusing than an ostrich two weeks old. 



The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 

Road to Pyramids and Scenes upon It — Traveling Bedouins — Ascent of Great 
Pyramid — View from Summit — Interior of Cheops — " King's Chamber." 

The oldest remains of the ingenuity and labor of mankind 
are at once stupendous and mysterious. Their glory, how- 
ever, consists not alone in their vastness and the everlasting 
riddle which they propound, but in that they are not ruins. 
" Everything fears Time, but Time fears the Pyramids, "said an 
Arabian physician more than seven hundred years ago. The 
"Father of History," Herodotus, describes them twenty-three 
hundred years ago substantially as they are now, and when he 
saw them they were probably older than is his history to-day. 
Yet they stand; and but for the wearing away of the surfaces 
of the stones by human feet, if the visitor were told that the 
work was finished in the first year of the present century he 
would see nothing materially inconsistent in the statement. 

A broad road, lined with trees, elevated by an embankment 
above the highest inundation of the Nile, and conducted by a 
magnificent iron bridge across the river, extends direct from 
Cairo to the Pyramids, and can be traversed by carriage in 
an hour and a half. Until 1868 an old roundabout donkey 
road was the only means of reaching them, and this fre- 
quently out of repair and obstructed by water. The Prince 
and Princess of Wales were the first to drive without inter- 
ruption from Cairo to the Pyramids. When the Suez Canal 
fetes w T ere held in the following year, the road was in as per- 
fect order as at the present time. 

Early on a bright morning we began the ride under the guid- 
ance of Mohammed Abdel Rahman, clad in the picturesque 
costume of his race. Leaving the city we saw on either 
hand a verdant landscape. In January everything is green 
and the plain as level as the floor of a palace. Only the irri- 
gating canals, sparkling like silver threads around an emerald, 



222 Travels in Three Continents. 

varied the color of the expanse. In every direction magnifi- 
cent palms arose, some apparently more than one hundred 
feet high. In the distance were the Pyramids; beyond these 
the desert; behind us the city and citadel of Cairo. 

The inhabitants of the road were yet more interesting. It 
seemed as though all Egypt were moving toward Cairo: long 
processions of camels, donkeys, and dromedaries, laden with 
grass, vegetables, wood, and everything necessary for the sus- 
tenance of the city; thousands of Bedouins, Egyptians, and Nu- 
bians, hastening along on foot; beggars in every stage of deform- 
ity and picturesqueness; children, half-naked, running to and 
fro ; cripples, leaping at a speed as fast as our horses were driven, 
yelling, ' 'Backsheesh ! Backsheesh /" sometimes screaming across 
the canal, asking us to throw them something, chattering their 
few words of English; orange peddlers holding up their tempt- 
ing wares. Not till several miles had been passed did the 
scene assume a more rural aspect. 

The almost uniform testimony is true, that the Pyramids — 
more resembling mountains than any structure of human 
creation — seem small at a near approach; but it is an optical 
illusion common in all mountainous countries where eleva- 
tions are unusually steep. Niagara Falls generally disap- 
points, but the longer one remains listening to the ceaseless 
roar and beholding the endless flow, the more is he brought 
under the spell of majesty, power, and indestructibility amid 
restlessness. Thus the Pyramids weave an imperceptible 
chain about the mind, which gradually but surely draws the 
head forward and downward into the attitude of reverence, 
and which only the human magpies that chatter here, and the 
mercenary Arabs who hover about the visitors like vultures 
intent upon prey, can resist. 

A little before arriving at the Pyramids the road enters the 
desert and rapidly ascends to the plateau on which they stand. 
This plateau, formed of limestone rock, is about a hundred 
feet above the plain. Upon it, near the Great Pyramid of 
Cheops, is the Viceroyal Kiosque, in some of the rooms of 
which travelers are allowed to rest. A hotel has been erected 
at a short distance, where comfortable accommodations can be 
obtained. With these exceptions the entire region is occupied 




Entrance to Pyramid. 



The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 225 

by ancient monuments of different shapes. Above tower the 
Pyramids, silent and immovable; beyond stretches the desert 
to the remotest horizon. Its surface, agitated by the winds 
then prevailing, appeared like a sea whose surges beat and 
dash in vain against those massive barriers. Here and there 
a solitary camel emerged, and as its rider rose and fell, 
appeared, indeed, like a "ship of the desert." 

Our attention was rudely drawn from this extraordinary 
scene and the meditations to which it gave rise by a crowd of 
tumultuous Bedouins, who surrounded us, offering to take us 
to the summit. Their clamor was terrific. In a mixture of 
Arabic and modern languages they set forth their qualifica- 
tions. If these men were not in charge of a Sheik, respon- 
sible for their fidelity and competent to keep order, the 
traveler would fare badly. While we stood looking at them 
the Sheik ordered one, who was unusually persistent, to go 
back. On his refusal the Sheik struck him. He replied by a 
vigorous blow, which did the Sheik considerable damage. 
A general fight then began, all the Bedouins taking the side 
of the Sheik. An officer appeared upon the scene with a 
whip and beat the rebellious Bedouin across the face, and he 
went away in the condition of the man who fell among thieves, 
" wounded and half dead." 

After much bargaining, we started up the Great Pyramid in 
charge of three men. Of these, two took hold of our hands, 
and the third stood behind to push. The courses of stones 
were so arranged as to make a series of steps from two to four 
feet in height. The two pulled vigorously, but the third was 
rather a hindrance than a help, for he did not accord with 
the movements of the others, and generally gave a terrific 
thrust after we had landed. 

Several peculiarities about the ascent make it difficult and 
to some perilous. The Arabs generally hurry the traveler 
from the start. Harriet Martineau says that they are right in 
taking people up quickly. It is trying to some heads to sit on a 
narrow ledge and see a dazzling succession of ledges for two 
or three hundred feet below. But such rapid breathing as is 
required in a rapid ascent is itself a cause of dizziness. The 
stones are of a light color, which becomes blinding in the in- 



226 Travels in Three Continents. 

tensity of an almost torrid sun in a translucent atmosphere. 
The hue of the exterior and of the desert at the foot being 
similar, and the stones but a few feet in width, it seems as 
though one were on an inclined plane, and the feeling that he 
must fall takes possession of his mind. 

Some who never waver upon the loftiest mountain summits, 
or who could climb to the top of a mast at sea without giddi- 
ness, have here been known to succumb. The only rational 
way for those finding any difficulty is to ascend slowly, rest 
frequently, and accustom the eye to the view, maintaining 
the regularity of the heart's action and of the breathing. With 
the aid of the Arabs the ascent is not dangerous. Ladies fre- 
quently make it, and I have known gentlemen more than sev- 
enty-five years old to do so. Without the guides it is perilous 
except to those accustomed to the roughest mountain work. 
Experience in ascending all trodden paths is of no value here. 
An English soldier some years ago scorned the help and at- 
tempted to descend alone, fell, and was dead and mutilated 
almost beyond recognition before he reached the bottom. 

A view from the summit is both elevating and depressing. 
If one looks to the west he beholds the limitless desert, whose 
monotony is broken only by ridges of rock a little browner 
than the earth. Within the distance of a few miles south and 
north more than sixty Pyramids lift their triangular sides 
and pointed apexes above the sea of sand. Were it not for the 
prospects toward the rising sun, the spectator would feel him- 
self in the shadow of death. An awful sense of desolation 
would weigh him down to the dust whence he was taken. His 
nerves would fail, and he would be ready to glide from the 
sands of time into the eternity, whose type is the circle of the 
horizon, without beginning or end. But in the east the sun is 
the symbol of human life, an outburst from darkness and 
death. 

The meadows intersected by irrigating canals, whose waters 
in the sunlight were white as snow; the palm trees majestically 
waving in the wind; the scores of villages; the high carriage 
road, narrowing to a thread as it reaches the great city, with 
its countless minarets and domes — this is a contrast as great 
as that seen at the foot of the Mer de Glace, in the valley of 



The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 227 

Chamounix, where flowers bloom within a few inches of the 
the glacier. 

The Pyramids themselves, as the work of man, being far 
higher than the summit of any natural object visible from them, 
and vastly older than anything which the eye can descry, ex- 
cept the earth and "the spacious firmament on high," are 
more imposing than the limited segment of the globe which 
can be seen by ascending them. 

An exploration of the interior of the Pyramid of Cheops in- 
creases the sense of its magnitude. I entered it about forty- 
five feet from the ground, and, under the guidance of the 
Arabs, climbed, traveling as a quadruped rather than as a 
man, for one hundred and ninety feet, along a passage three 
feet five inches high and four feet wide, more or less obstructed 
with sand and small stones. We then reached the Queen's 
Chamber, a room nineteen by seventeen, and twenty feet in 
height, roofed with blocks of stone, wonderfully adjusted, and 
ventilated by airholes. This apartment stands immediately 
under the apex of the Pyramid, but is four hundred and seven 
feet below the original summit. Hence we traversed a passage 
quite irregular. 

At one point an Arab descended one hundred feet, and 
lighted a candle that I might see the reflection. The solem- 
nity of the scene was broken by his demand for backsheesh as 
he emerged from the darkness. After various wanderings I 
reached the King's Chamber, which is seventy- one feet above 
that previously visited. It is roofed with granite, consisting 
of nine slabs, each eighteen and a half feet long, and of great 
thickness. To prevent the whole from being crushed in, the 
builders relieved the ceiling of the weight by placing five hol- 
low chambers above it. In it is the sarcophagus, without lid, 
inscription, contents. When struck, as it was by the Arabs 
frequently, the sound was like that of a cathedral bell. 

To entertain me the Bedouins gave vent to fearful yells, 
which reverberated in the sepulcher like the roars of wild 
beasts in dens and caves of the earth, or, as one might fancy, 
shrieks of prisoners in deep dungeons, made insane by their 
miseries. I was fain to sing a cheerful hymn, but the echoes 
transformed it into a wail of despair. 



228 Travels in Three Continents. 

The catacombs which I have seen in Rome and in Russia 
are less impressive than these dark, silent realms, tenanted by 
those who lived and died centuries before the first stone of 
Jerusalem, Athens, or Rome was laid. 

Miss Martineau says with truth: "The symmetry and 
finish so deepen the gloom as to make it seem like a fit prison 
house for fallen angels." 

On issuing from this labyrinth of sepulchers the first thing 
I saw was the "Great American Combination Baseball Club," 
which had been making a tour round the world, preparing to 
play a game on the sand between the Pyramids and the 
Sphinx! Mummy of Cheops! has it come to this? 



The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 229 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
The Pyramids and the Sphinx. — (Continued.) 

History of Pyramids and Reasons Why They Were Built — Description of 
the Sphinx — Antiquity — Campbell's Tomb — Extraordinary Agility of a 
Bedouin — Incidents of the Trip. 

Concerning the Pyramids, we naturally ask, Who built 
them, and why? How were they built, and when? Substan- 
tial unity of opinion exists upon the question "Who ? " The 
greatest was built by Khufu, known to the Greeks as Cheops; 
the second in size by Khafra, called by the Greeks Chephren; 
the third by Menkaura, whom the Greeks called Mycerinus. 
The builder of the second is said by most authorities to be the 
brother of the first, but by some to be his son; and the builder 
of the third is generally conceded to have been the son of the 
builder of the first. 

"When" they were built depends upon the principle of 
chronology adopted. The dispute turns upon whether the 
lists given by Manetho include dynasties contemporaneous or 
successive. Egyptology is now a science. In Cairo and other 
places hundreds of volumes, including mathematical calcula- 
tions, architectural drawings, and theoretical speculations, 
are collected. Boats traversing the Nile have libraries contain- 
ing the standard authors. In historical and theological works, 
as well as in the guidebooks, some of which are brought to a 
high degree of completeness, various hypotheses are proposed. 
Three standard authorities differ as follows: Mariette puts the 
fourth dynasty, of which Cheops was the second king, as 
beginning in the year 4235 B. C. ; Lepsius in the year 3124 
B. C. ; Wilkinson in the year 2450 B. C. Cheops is said to 
have reigned fifty-six and Chephren fifty years. 

"Why" were they built? Five or six theories have been in- 
vented and strenuously defended: that they were temples; 
that they were sepulchers; that they were mere monuments 
of ostentation ; that they were designed for astronomical and 
13 



230 Travels in Three Continents. 

other scientific purposes; that they were symbols of the "Orig- 
inal of Things." Dr. Piazzi Smyth, long a Director of the 
Royal Astronomical Observatory at Edinburgh, holds that the 
Pyramid of Cheops is a "meteorological monument" and "a 
standard of measures." A multitude of sermons have been 
illustrated by extended reasonings and quotations from his 
book, which, when issued, made a sensation in a limited 
sphere. But all theories, except that they were tombs, have 
failed to command the assent of any considerable number of 
competent investigators. 

From a passage written by Mariette Bey I condense the 
considerations in favor of their simply being tombs. There is 
not in Egypt a single Pyramid that is not situated in a necrop- 
olis. Only one has accessible interior chambers from which 
astronomical observations might have been made. Their 
sides are accurately arranged, because for mythological rea- 
sons they are dedicated to the four cardinal points of the 
compass. They were massive, complete, without windows and 
without doors; hence intended to be " the gigantic and for- 
ever impenetrable casing of a mummy." The archaeology of 
the monumental customs of Egypt confirms this, and the vast 
size of some raises no argument against it, because there are 
many not more than twenty feet high. 

Lepsius has explained, in a manner to account for all the 
facts, the plan upon which they were formed. When a king 
ascended the throne he began to build his Pyramid; com- 
mencing on a small scale, so that, if his reign should be short, 
his tomb might be finished. As time went on he enlarged it 
by adding outer coatings of stone until he felt that he was 
soon to die. At his death the last coating was finished. The 
first step was to level the earth, the next to excavate subter- 
ranean chambers, then to build a Pyramid with very steep 
walls. If the king died when this was finished, a summit was 
placed upon it; otherwise, each year a new series of stones 
was arranged around it. 

Two facts prove this theory correct. The inside is always 
most carefully constructed. The larger the size the more 
roughly the outer crusts were executed, while the smallest 
Pyramids invariably consist of the simple structure described by 



The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 231 

Lepsius. Most of the stone was quarried on the east bank of 
the Nile, in subterranean works, which are still used. The 
stone now, as in ancient times, is transported to the banks of 
the Nile by means of camels and mules, but tramways have 
been recently laid. A road was built from the Nile to the 
Pyramids, and stone brought over it and raised on piles of 
wooden slabs, "rocking the stones up alternately to one side 
and the other by a spar under the block, thus heightening the 
piles alternately, and so raising the stones." Sheet iron was 
used " to prevent crowbars biting into the stones and to ease 
the action of the rollers. " Recent experiments have proved 
that this method could be applied to the heaviest stones in the 
Great Pyramid, which average seven hundred cubic feet, each 
weighing about fifty-four tons. 

The Egyptians believed in the immortality of the soul, but 
knew nothing of the resurrection of the body; hence the im- 
portance of preserving the mummy. They located their cem- 
eteries in the desert to escape the inundations of the Nile. In 
rich excavated tomb chambers kings attempted to surpass all 
private persons. These tombs of royalty are either covered 
with mounds or blocks of stone. To protect them from the 
sand tempests of the desert they were covered with stones. 
"The sepulchral mounds thus acquired a definite form. They 
became square structures tapering upward, and gradually 
assumed the pyramidal shape." It is easy to see that the 
Pyramid, being practically solid, much larger at the founda- 
tion than elsewhere, and least exposed to the winds at the 
higher elevations, could more successfully resist decay, attack, 
concussion, whether of storm or wind, the action of water 
(had there been any in Egypt), and the devastations of earth- 
quakes. Add the dryness of the atmosphere as a protection, 
and the preservative influence of the sand itself, which in for- 
mer ages extended well up toward their summits, and the 
greater relative durability of these structures over other 
monuments of human industry, though still wonderful, ceases 
to be mysterious. 

After leaving the Great Pyramid I mounted a camel and rode 
to the Sphinx. The distance is not more than a quarter of a 
mile, and the ride part of the "sentiment" of the tour. It 



232 Travels in Three Continents. 

has been erroneously supposed by many that there is but 
one Sphinx. The avenue leading to the Great Temple is 
flanked by Sphinxes. They generally consist of a lion's 
body with the head of a man, called Androsphinx, or with the 
head of a ram. It was the discovery by Mariette of the head 
of a Sphinx appearing through the sand that led to the identi- 
fication of the Serapeum, or the Apis Mausoleum. In two 
months he excavated an avenue six hundred feet long and ex- 
posed to view one hundred and forty-one Sphinxes entire, 
besides pedestals of many more. But that before which we then 
stood is so far superior to all others, and was so long known 
while they were forgotten, as to be preeminently the Sphinx. 

The pictures and photographs so common in books of 
travel, geographies, and works on Egypt, give a fair view of 
the features of the Sphinx, but they are of little use owing to 
the impossibility of representing such a colossal figure, to 
which nothing analogous exists in the observer's experience. 

The body is one hundred and forty feet long, of naked, 
natural rock, supplemented by masonry to give it the proper 
shape. The head is cut out of the solid rock and is thirty feet 
from the top to the bottom of the chin, and fourteen feet wide. 
In ancient times there was a cap upon it adorned with the erect 
figure of an asp. The wig is still there. It also has a beard, 
fragments of which I saw on my last visit to the British 
Museum. The ears are four and a half feet, the nose five feet 
seven inches, the mouth seven feet seven inches in length. 
The front paws are fifty feet in length, and between them were 
found an altar and a kind of sanctuary composed of three tab- 
lets. Many of the interesting discoveries of modern times are 
already concealed by sand, which continually accumulates not- 
withstanding everything which has been done to prevent it. 

The imagination of travelers wonderfully stimulated by the 
proximity of the Pyramids and other intoxicating remains of 
high antiquity, the unlikeness to all other civilization, the mys- 
terious Nile, the fascinating sky, and the half-revealing, half- 
concealing desert, have surrounded the Sphinx with a beauty 
and majesty which it is the fashion to depict with enthusiasm. 

It has been said to have "a calm, majestic expression of 
countenance," to be "very beautiful," to have "a graceful 



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The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 235 

and lovely mouth," and "to smile graciously." Dean Stanley 
says there is something overpowering in the sight of that enor- 
mous head, and thus speculates: "What must it have been 
when on its head was the royal helmet of Egypt; on its chin 
the royal beard; when the stone pavement by which men ap- 
proached the Pyramids ran up between its paws; when im- 
mediately under its heart an altar stood from which the smoke 
went up into the gigantic nostrils of that nose, now vanished 
from the face, never to be conceived again ! " But when it is 
remembered that no living person or modern writer ever saw 
the Sphinx before it was mutilated to such an extent that no 
one can even pretend to say whether the features are Negro, 
Nubian, or Egyptian, "whether they be sublimely beautiful or 
sweetly smiling, calmly benevolent, or awe inspiring, typical 
of solemn majesty or debased idolatry," we are obliged to 
consider what it is. 

As it now stands, it is an enormous mutilated head whose 
features cannot be distinguished much more clearly than those 
of the Old Man of the Mountain in the Franconia Notch. Its 
antiquity is exceeding, its possible symbolical meanings numer- 
ous and sufficiently diverse to furnish materials for endless 
speculation, the only indisputable fact being that it was wor- 
shiped as a local deity. 

I would not intimate that it is not an imposing monument, 
or that it made no impression upon me; but it failed to justify 
the fame accorded it by those whose descriptions are most 
frequently read and heard. One writer is almost ludicrous in 
his assertion of its extraordinary character, and yet confesses in 
the same sentence that it is not beautiful by any standard now 
known: " Comely the creature is, but the comeliness is not of 
this world; the once worshiped beast is a deformity and a 
monster to this generation, and yet you can say that those lips, 
so thick and heavy, were fashioned according to some ancient 
mold of beauty." The penetration that sees comeliness in 
something that is a monster to the present generation, and 
discerns that it was formed according to an extinct and in- 
comprehensible "mold of beauty," is a mysterious gift with- 
held from common mortals! 

Close to the Sphinx, and not yet fully determined to be con- 



236 Travels in Three Continents. 

nected with it, is the granite temple exhumed by Mariette in 

1853- 

I saw a tomb, named at the time of its discovery, "Camp- 
bell's Tomb," after a British consul general, which interested 
me, because I had seen one of the sarcophagi found in it in 
the British Museum. It is thirty and a half feet by twenty-six, 
and fifty-three and three quarters feet in depth. When the 
party had finished looking at it, and were about to go away, 
a tall, lithe, graceful, and handsome Bedouin descended to 
the bottom, and then performed a feat of extraordinary 
strength and agility. He climbed from the bottom to the top 
in one of the angles of the walls, adhering by lateral pressure 
of hands and feet to the two sides, with his face toward the 
center. There were a few places an inch or two in depth in 
which he could place his feet, but for a very considerable part 
of the way he adhered by hands and feet as a fly does to a 
ceiling. 

He then offered to ascend the Great Pyramid of Cheops and 
descend in the space of eight minutes. This he was willing to 
do for a backsheesh of five francs. Believing it impossible I 
offered him the amount, and with the grace and agility of a 
gazelle he leaped in his bare feet upon the stones, moved like 
the wind from height to height, and absolutely performed the 
feat in the space of six minutes and a half. He was clothed 
in white, and, as he descended with a kind of flying trapeze 
motion, his raiment streaming in the wind, he presented the 
most bewildering phase of human action that I have ever seen 
except the performances of Blondin. 

As the old stage driver in California always talks about 
Horace Greeley and his wonderful ride, and the sea captain on 
the Baltic points out the room on his vessel occupied by Gen- 
eral Grant, and guides speak here of the Prince of Wales and 
there of the Czar of Russia, so the Bedouin conductors at the 
Pyramids name their great man. 

The only name mentioned to us, and that very frequently 
by the Bedouins, when they discovered that we were Americans, 
was our distinguished fellow-citizen, Mark Twain. So far as 
we could gather, either he must have ascended the Pyramids 
twenty-five or thirty times, or required a vast amount of aid, for 



The Pyramids and the Sphinx. 237 

nearly every man had lent a hand in helping him to the top; or 
it maybe that, just before leaving, the " Innocent Abroad " 
distributed backsheesh to the entire party. 

Our visit to the Pyramids was a true type of human life — a 
mixture of the grave and the gay. One of the gentlemen who 
had traveled with us from Cairo, when he was rejoicing in a 
successful ascent and exploration of the interior, under the 
tension of mental excitement and physical weariness, fell un- 
conscious into the arms of the Arabs, and until he opened his 
eyes and said, "How long have I been in this state?" it was 
not certain that the expedition would not end in a tragedy. 
But it was soon over. 

On my first visit, not being quite well, when about halfway 
up my knees smote together, my head swam, and I was com- 
pelled to descend. But one month afterward, on a bright day, 
I returned and ascended, without fatigue, to the top in twenty 
minutes, including two short rests. 

For travelers in ordinary health, without tendency to ver- 
tigo, the ascent is not perilous, and invalids may find pleasure 
and refreshment in the ride over the beautiful road to the 
scene of mankind's only successful conflict with time. 



238 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
On the Nile. 

Importance of the Nile — Cause of Annual Overflow — Influence upon Intel- 
lectual Character of Egyptians — Way of Traveling on the Nile before 
Steamboats Were Introduced — Passengers on the Prince Abbas. 

The Nile occupies a position of solitary, unapproachable 
grandeur. Its sources were the mystery of ages ; its annual 
overflow was considered supernatural; and it was worshiped 
as a god by the most intellectual nation of antiquity. Herod- 
otus called Egypt the "Gift of the Nile," and later historians 
and modern scientists have greatly enlarged the scope of the 
declaration. For two thousand years European explorers tried 
to ascertain the sources of the Nile. Most of the authorities 
place them now in the Victoria Nyanza, but it is maintained by 
some that its head stream is probably to be found in the 
Shimiju, which rises five degrees south of the equator. 

As I approached Egypt all other objects, even the Pyramids 
and the ruins, diminished in interest compared with the burn- 
ing curiosity which I felt to see the Nile. The first impression, 
like that of the Mississippi, was disappointing. 

The Nile makes Egypt; without it the Arabian and Libyan 
deserts would unite, and not a green spot, except here and 
there a small oasis, would break the monotony. The river 
flows northward, receiving various large tributaries, until it 
reaches Khartoom, where General Gordon was killed, to 
which point it is known as the White Nile. From the sea to 
Khartoom by the river is not far from two thousand miles. 
There it is joined by the Blue Nile, which rises in the moun- 
tains of Abyssinia, and before reaching Khartoom becomes a 
mighty river. Generally speaking, the Blue Nile furnishes 
only one third as much water as the White Nile, but after the 
rains fall in the spring and summer its proportion is greatly in- 
creased. It pours down thick with mud washed from the 
Abyssinian mountains, and changes the color of the stream, 



On the Nile. 239 

as the Saone changes the color of the Rhone, with which 
it unites at Lyons. 

From Khartoom the Nile flows to the sea, without a trib- 
utary for the last sixteen hundred and twenty miles; Humboldt 
declares that this is without parallel. It has brought down 
and deposited alluvial mud at an average depth of thirty feet. 
As the water was unusually low, we could see the different 
strata on the perpendicular walls of the river to this depth. 

Zincke, in his elaborate work on Egypt, illustrates how this 
is done by a reference to the valley of the Platte, above Jules- 
burg, in our own country. The Platte, he says, writhes like 
a snake from side to side of its fiat valley, continually chang- 
ing its channel as it washes up bars and banks; and the bluffs, 
though now generally at a considerable distance from the river, 
must have been formed by it when it was working first against 
one and then against the other side of the valley. The whole 
valley of the Nile is from four and a half to ten miles in Nubia, 
and fourteen to thirty-two miles in Egypt. The breadth of 
the soil that can be cultivated nowhere exceeds nine miles. 

The general cause of the annual overflow is the amount of 
rain that falls in Central Africa. This is very uniform in 
amount, being affected by the trade winds. In the Abyssin- 
ian mountains it is less regular, and may do immense damage; 
if there is too much it destroys the dikes and embankments, 
much property, and often human lives. Generally the river 
begins to swell early in June; about the third week in July it 
rises rapidly; toward the last of September it remains station- 
ary for ten days or more; but early in October it again rises 
and reaches its greatest height. After it begins to fall it rises 
again, then slowly diminishes, and at last subsides rapidly. 
We were on the Nile during the greater part of February and 
a part of March. The river was exceedingly low, and the cul- 
tivated land dry as dust. Two feet too much will cause ter- 
rible devastation in lower Egypt, and three or four feet too 
little drought and famine in upper Egypt. Too much will 
cause more devastation than formerly, as. the cotton fields, on 
which prosperity depends, will be destroyed by floods. 

The accounts in geographies and works of travel written 
thirty or forty years ago do not apply to the present condition 



240 Travels in Three Continents. 

of Egypt. Then the inundation produced a vast lake, and the 
water flowed directly out of the river over the fields. At 
present the whole country is scientifically irrigated; water let 
Irom the river into reservoirs and canals, and distributed on 
the same principles as are employed in California, Utah, and 
other parts of the United States. It is drawn into immense 
basins, properly situated in relation to the cultivable land. 
These are at different levels, and the water is retained until it 
has sufficiently saturated the whole soil and furnished the nec- 
essary amount of mud. We saw only the machinery; except 
the irrigating streams and canals, there was no running water 
to be seen in all Egypt. 

The influence of the Nile upon the intellectual character of 
Egypt was equally powerful. It was protected from the en- 
croachments of other countries by its position in the midst of 
a wide desert. Its soil was so fertile, climate so balmy, an- 
nual supply of manure and water so regular and reliable, that 
it had no difficulty in procuring food, and there was almost al- 
ways "corn in Egypt." Therefore its people, not all being 
required to wrest from unwilling nature the means of sub- 
sistence, could devote themselves to intellectual pursuits. It 
had a winter and summer harvest, " the riches of the climates 
of two zones." "Its winter, by reason of its environment by 
the heat-accumulating desert," resembles a European summer, 
and its summer that of the tropics. Both wheat and cotton 
grow under its palms. 

Those who have studied deeply into the matter say that the 
Egyptians learned engineering because of the necessity of con- 
trolling the Nile and distributing its water; that they received 
their first impulse to the study of astronomy in order that they 
might know when to expect the overflow; that as the river 
destroyed all landmarks they were compelled to master sur- 
veying, and create the science of law in order to maintain the 
rights of property; and that it was the river which awakened 
their religious sentiment. Moreover it was the Nile which en- 
abled them to transport the materials of which they built their 
imperishable structures; and as they had a navigable highway 
for commerce running the entire length of their country, they 
naturally learned to construct vessels. 



On the Nile. 241 

Genesis says: "The Lord made a covenant with Abram, 
saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river 
of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." On the 
bank of this stream Pharaoh's daughter found the ark of bul- 
rushes in which Moses lay, and it was this river whose waters 
were turned into blood. 

The old-fashioned way of traveling upon the Nile for 
pleasure or exploration was by the dahabeah. Charles Dudley 
Warner's My Winter on the Nile gives a graphic description of 
the pleasures, and the pains, too, of this method. If one has 
a whole winter to spend in Egypt, and merely desires to enjoy 
the climate and scenery, and study leisurely the ruins and the 
people; if he has plenty of money, and company of which he 
is sure he will never tire; or if he is an artist and desires to 
sketch, and if in addition to that he has an inexhaustible sup- 
ply of good humor, the dahabeah is to be preferred. As these 
conditions are enjoyed by but few, had not steamboats been 
placed upon the river, travel upon the Nile would have been 
confined to a limited number. My temperament would not 
bear the slow rate of progress in a dahabeah. For a fortnight 
it might be endured, but many who experimented with it dur- 
ing that winter left their vessels and took passage upon the 
steamers, wearied beyond endurance by the uncertainties and 
delays. Our vessel was the Prince Abbas. There were fifty- 
two passengers, among them an aged lawyer from Chicago, 
with his wife and two children; Professor Hirschberg, of 
the University of Berlin, one of the Vice Presidents of the 
International Society of Oculists; two clergymen of the Church 
of England, one accompanied by his daughter, the other in the 
mazes of an agonizing courtship, which culminated in a prop- 
osition and acceptance before the voyage ended; a brother of 
the Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, distinguished parliamentarian 
and diplomat; a retired Brooklyn merchant with his wife and 
two daughters; a young New York lawyer, who had done so 
well in a year that his father had sent him on a tour around the 
world; a Michigan lumber merchant with his wife; a Scottish 
Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Mr. Scotland; a wealthy cit- 
izen of the United Kingdom, who would have been more 
charming if he had practiced total, or even partial, abstinence; 



242 Travels in Three Continents. 

a South American, who had made a fortune and was traveling 
around the world preparatory to settling in France, his native 
country; several Canadians; two ladies, scions of the English 
nobility; several couples on their wedding tours; a Swed- 
ish gentleman, who spoke many languages and suffered with 
lumbago; and Henry Gilman, Consul of the United States at 
Jerusalem. 

The vessel was built after the style of the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi boats, flat bottom, three stories high. The general 
management was good; the food and cooking in the early 
part of the voyage excellent, and perhaps not more monoto- 
nous toward the close than might be expected. 



Memphis and Sakkara. 243 



CHAPTER XXX. 
Memphis and Sakkara. 

Scene at Starting — The Khedive's Steam Yacht — Scenery — Scramble of 
Donkey Boys for Riders — The Greatest Capital of Egypt — Colossal Statue 
of Rameses II — Sakkara — The Step Pyramid and Serapeum — Description 
of Interior of Step Pyramid — Account of Discovery of Serapeum by Mariette 
Bey. 

Punctually at ten o'clock on Tuesday, February 12, the 
intending voyagers up the Nile were on board. The peculiar 
excitement which attends the beginning of an ocean voyage 
was not manifest. The vessel carried no freight, was not com- 
pelled to maintain a reputation for speed, would never be out 
of sight of land, nor at that season would it ever be where 
passengers could not wade ashore. No natives were traveling 
except in the service of the company, no mails were carried, 
and those who came down to bid the passengers farewell were 
themselves far from home, or transient acquaintances. Still 
it was an animated scene, much resembling the starting of an 
old-fashioned steamer on the Mississippi. 

Soon we met the royal steamer bearing the Khedive to the 
capital. The vessel was a fine steam yacht. The subordinate 
officers accompanying the Khedive wore conspicuous uniforms. 
We passed near enough to the vessel to have a fine view of the 
Khedive, who bowed with genuine oriental grace in return for 
our cheers, flag showing, whistle blowing, and handkerchief 
waving, salute after salute having been fired from the time 
the royal yacht was sighted. One must go to the East to 
realize the beauty and amplitude of which the bow is capable. 

The country along the banks of the river was charming. 
The corn was growing, its light green contrasting with the 
rich emerald color of the perennial palms. Where the grass 
could be seen from the deck of the vessel the whole landscape 
seemed carpeted, the roads appearing like avenues through a 
park. Here and there tall sycamores rivaled the palms in 



244 Travels in Three Continents. 

height. Turning from the shore we saw numerous dahabeahs, 
fishing and freight boats, and once a small vessel bearing two 
enormous camels, which were apparently large enough to upset 
the vessel, had they the power to combine. There were plenty 
wild fowl and not a few pelicans flying above or swimming in 
the waters. The sky was absolutely clear, and the air as pure 
as ever fans the earth. 

At noon we came to anchor, and witnessed the first of 
scenes that never failed in interest — the scramble of the donkey 
boys for riders. The vessel carried side-saddles for the 
ladies; the donkeys were owned by men who contracted with 
the company for a small sum. The donkey boys got most of 
their pay from the gratuities given by travelers. There were 
more donkeys than passengers; some better, some worse. The 
meaner looking the animal the more vociferous the declara- 
tions that "he is a very good donkey " and the boy " a very 
nice donkey boy." Many of these had picked up considerable 
English and some French and German. They display great 
ingenuity in carrying on a conversation with the few words 
they know. 

Our destination "by donkey" was Memphis, the greatest 
capital of Egypt. The site of ancient Memphis is now called 
Mitrahenny. After riding over the plains and through the 
palm groves we came to the colossal statue, about forty- 
two feet in height, of Rameses II, its head of limestone. 
It was discovered by Caviglia in 1820, and presented by 
Mohammed Ali to the British Museum, provided it should be 
taken to England. Nine months of the year it is under water, 
but of late it has been lifted several feet, and now lies on its 
side. Mariette Bey says the statues of Rameses are so com- 
mon that science would attach no importance to this one were 
it not that the head, modeled with a grandeur of style which 
one never tires of admiring, is an authentic portrait of the cel- 
ebrated conqueror of the Nineteenth Dynasty. We climbed 
over it as grasshoppers might have done. As in all the rep- 
resentations of Rameses, there is an incipient smile upon 
the features, an expression of complacency unmistakable, if 
judged by the indications of that state of feeling natural to 
occidentals. There is, however, a mystery in oriental expres- 



Memphis and Sakkara. 247 

sions of countenance which does not always admit of interpreta- 
tion by Western standards. 

Although Memphis was probably the largest city in Egypt, 
and perhaps the oldest; though it was many miles in length, 
and so magnificent that the Pyramids Abousir, Sakkara, and 
Dashoor are but its cemeteries; though its streets were more 
than half a day's journey in length; though it exerted a pro- 
found influence upon the destiny of the human race, and 
though down to eight hundred years ago its ruins were such 
as to cause a discriminating traveler and scientist to say, "As 
for the figures of idols that are found among those ruins, 
whether as regards their number or their enormous magnitude, 
it is something that baffles description, and of which one can 
hardly convey any idea," and led him to regard as pardonable 
the popular belief that the ancient Egyptians were giants of 
fabulous longevity who had the power of moving masses of rock 
with a magician's wand; and, notwithstanding it existed, ac- 
cording to Wilkinson nearly three thousand years, to Lepsius 
nearly four thousand, and to Mariette Bey five thousand, 
nothing remains but mounds, ruins of walls, broken columns, 
and defaced statues and idols, above which wave palm trees, 
and about which grow weeds and rank grass! 

Mariette Bey, in his Monuments of Upper Egypt, quotes 
Jeremiah, and declares that his gloomy threatenings are liter- 
ally fulfilled. 

From Memphis we rode several miles to Sakkara. This is a 
village of no importance, but gives its name to the Necropolis 
of Memphis, which is adjacent. It lies on the verge of the 
sands of the desert, and is four and a half miles long, in the 
narrowest part being about a third of a mile wide, and in the 
broadest a mile. Here the exploration has been more thorough 
than in any other place. 

It is impossible for one who does not remain in Egypt for 
years, devoting himself exclusively to the work, to visit the 
whole of this cemetery. The Pyramids, especially the Step 
Pyramid, the Serapeum, and certain tombs admit of easy ex- 
ploration by travelers. The Step Pyramid, which is visible at 
a great distance, is believed by some to have been erected by 
a king of the first dynasty, which would make it the most 



248 Travels in Three Continents. 

ancient structure in the world; others assign to it a later 
origin. It consists of six stages, six and one half feet wide, 
varying in height. One of my companions climbed to the 
summit, finding various portions in a ruinous condition. 

It was opened in 182 1. Immediately under the center is 
an excavation seventy-seven feet deep and twenty-four feet 
square; the top is dome-shaped, the bottom paved with granite, 
and underneath was an opening concealed by a granite block 
that weighed four tons. From it lead intricate passages, for- 
merly lined with vitrified porcelain slabs, similar to those 
known as Dutch tiles. A chamber was discovered which had 
not been ransacked by thieves, and in it thirty mummies were 
found. 

On the Sakkara plateau there are eleven Pyramids, and from 
elevated points more than sixty are in sight. The Serapeum 
was the most curious monument which we saw there. Its dis- 
covery was romantic. In 1850 Mariette Bey was commis- 
sioned by the French government to visit the Coptic convents 
of Egypt, and to make a catalogue of such manuscripts as he 
should find in oriental languages. He noticed at Alexandria, 
in a private garden, several Sphinxes. Soon he saw more at 
Cairo, and still more at Cizeh, and was convinced that there 
must be an avenue of Sphinxes which was being pillaged. He 
was led to discover this avenue by perceiving the head of one 
of the Sphinxes protruding from the sand. He began to dig, 
and drew such treasures from the sand as to convince him, 
on referring to a passage in Strabo, that he was discover- 
ing the route to the Serapeum. The French government 
aided him, and in four years the discovery was complete. Two 
months of the work revealed an avenue six hundred feet long, 
and laid bare one hundred and forty-one Sphinxes. When he 
had gone down seventy feet he found a semicircle of statues 
representing the most famous philosophers and writers of 
Greece, some having names at the bottom. Among the ob- 
jects found were two lions and various golden ornaments that 
were in the coffin of the favorite son of Rameses II. The 
two lions and two of the ornaments I saw some years ago in 
the Louvre in Paris, where they are preserved. 



The Tomb of Tih. 249 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Tomb of Tih, and the Voyage and Visit to 
Beni-Hassan. 

Painting in Tomb of Tih — Pyramid of Maydoom — Characteristic Scenes — 
Nile Fish— Palms— Cliffs of Gebel et Tayr— The "Mountain of the Bird," 
and its Legend — Origin of Fable of Charon and the River Styx — Tombs of 
Beni-Hassan. 

The tomb of Tih (or Thy) is claimed by Egyptologists to 
be one of the most interesting and instructive in Egypt, and it is 
certainly an excellent preparation for the further examination 
of the wonders of upper Egypt. It has been so damaged by 
explorers, "the would-be archaeologists, who with their wet 
squeeze-paper have destroyed in so many places the brilliant 
colors that centuries have spared," the savants who have cut 
off and carried off large pieces of the sculpture and taken 
them to museums in different parts of the world, and the 
wretches who have written names all over the tomb, that some 
have almost regretted its discovery. It is to the sand of 
Egypt that the preservation of these things is due, for had 
they not been covered, the abominable vandals, the same in all 
ages, who are prevented only by the strong arm of the law 
from carrying on the work of devastation, and consider it 
smart to evade it when they can, would have ruined every- 
thing. The paintings in the tomb of Tih are divided into 
three parts. The scenes of the first relate to him as living. 
Women of his household are dancing before him, musicians are 
playing upon instruments, and singers are accompanying them 
beating time. Again he is shooting in the marshes, standing 
in a boat, letting" fly what we call stool pigeons; around the 
bark are hippopotami and crocodiles, and servants trying 
to catch them. There are representations of pastoral life, 
a brook, cows grazing, calves feeding in the meadow, herds- 
men driving goats; then harvest time is depicted, and so 
on through the entire course of the life of a prosperous and 
14 



250 Travels in Three Continents. 

happy man. Scenes relating to his death follow. Here he 
is represented as dead, but standing in a bark watching the 
conveyance of his own mummy into the necropolis. After- 
ward the bringing in of funereal gifts is portrayed, including 
bread, wine, fruits of the earth, limbs of animals. The dead 
man is seated, the procession with the offerings passing before 
him. Priests chant hymns. 

Of the books, the best extant, which I have procured upon 
Egypt, none has pleased me so much as the Monuments of 
Upper Egypt, by Auguste Mariette Bey, entitled in the original, 
Itineraire dc la Haute- Egypte. 

Proceeding up the Nile, we saw in the distance, about four 
miles from the shore, the Pyramid of Maydoom, called by the 
Arabs the False Pyramid. It has this opprobrious name be- 
cause the nucleus of it is natural rock, which is built around 
so as to give the shape of a pyramid — a peculiarity which dis- 
tinguishes it from all others. 

During the afternoon we were delighted, while gliding past, 
with the view of the villages, the banks covered with trees, the 
buffaloes standing or lying in the water, the multitude of dogs, 
women coming to the river filling water jars and washing 
clothes. The buffalo was introduced from India, and has al- 
most taken the place of the ox for agricultural purposes. They 
are stronger, more enduring, and require less care. Buffalo 
milk is good, furnishing rich cream and butter. 

There were long stretches of sand banks, and upon and 
over them immense numbers of water birds. Occasionally 
a pelican, six feet from the tip of the beak to the tail, could 
be seen, like a vessel at anchor. Storks, cranes, and her- 
ons were wading. Flocks of geese were flying early in the 
morning, and in the evening their loud screams could be 
heard. 

Though here and there we saw a fisherman, and fish are 
abundant, the less said of them the better. "They are all 
soft, woolly, and have a strong flavor of mud." There is a 
rock in the stream near the shore in the vicinity of these sand 
banks which the Arabs poetically call Hagar s-Salam, or Stone 
of Welfare. They have a superstitious belief that a journey 
down the Nile cannot be called prosperous until that is passed. 



The Tomb of Tih. 251 

Mountains rise some hundreds of feet in height along the 
bank of the Nile, but the river leaves them as it proceeds west- 
ward. Noble palm trees, which form thick groves around the 
villages, are everywhere the finest features of the landscape, and 
when the graceful minaret rises from among them, the scene 
is attractive. On approaching the village the mosque is found 
frequently inferior to the minaret ; the mud huts with thatched 
roofs are but a few feet high, and streets being practically un- 
known, the enchantment dissolves. 

A marked change in the scenery took place as the vessel 
approached Gebel et Tayr. These precipitous cliffs rise 
nearly perpendicular from the river to the height of nearly a 
thousand feet. Sailing vessels need to be extremely careful 
in passing, as extraordinary gusts of wind arise, and in the 
water near the base we saw one or two wrecks of fishing 
smacks, and one of a dahabeah. There is a Coptic convent 
upon the summit, and in former times the monks would come 
down the face of the rocks to the river, appearing to travelers 
like insects, and then, plunging into the river, would swim off 
to the boats to beg. Ashamed of the scandals to which this 
gave rise, the Patriarch forbade it. Gebel et Tayr is the 
"Mountain of the Bird," and all the birds of the country are 
said to assemble upon it once a year. They select one of their 
number to stay until the next year. This done they fly away 
to the interior of Africa, coming back at the end of the year 
to release the prisoner and substitute another. What the 
object is, the legend does not explain; probably it originated 
from the fact that numbers of birds appear there, and when 
they depart one or two stay behind ! 

As we were constantly moving southward, by the sixteenth 
of February the heat was as great as it ever is in the United 
States at any season of the year. In the shade, however, the 
temperature was tolerable. We caught glimpses of disman- 
tled forts, many sugar plantations on the east side, and in the 
mountains rocks and grottoes used as tombs. Midway 
between the villages of Sooadee and Kom-Ahmar is a cemetery 
to which solemn funeral visits lasting seven days are paid 
three times a year. The ancient Egyptians usually selected 
cemeteries on the opposite side of the river from the place of 



252 Travels in Three Continents. 

their abode and carried over the bodies in ferryboats, the 
women wailing. As we passed this point I read an interesting 
fact. It was the old Egyptian custom of ferrying over the 
dead that gave rise to the fable of Charon and the River Styx. 
The authority for this statement is Diodorus, who traces the 
fable distinctly and consistently from the funeral ceremonies 
of Egypt. 

When Beni-Hassan was reached, we landed to visit the 
tombs. The tombs of Beni-Hassan, architecturally and picto- 
rially, are as highly esteemed by Egyptologists as any to 
be found elsewhere in Egypt. They are believed to date from 
3000 B. C. The city for which this mountain once served as 
a burial place cannot be identified; not even its name is 
known, nor its site authenticated; but the tombs themselves 
show that the dead buried in them were public functionaries in 
that city. They are constructed on the same principle as 
those in the Pyramids and at Sakkara — the accessible chamber, 
the hidden well, the funeral vault containing the sarcophagus, 
and the mummy at the bottom of the well. The paintings 
give details of the history and events of the life of the deceased. 
No representations whatever of the Deity appear. Some are 
inferior, but when the last two were reached even the stolid 
spectators were interested. The caves are ornamented with 
colored figures; those of the north stained red to resemble 
granite. The fissures were filled with mortar to make the 
surface smooth, and overlaid with a thin coating of lime. 
Most noted of the northern grottoes is the tomb of Ameni- 
Amenemha, Governor of the Province of Sah, who was also a 
general of infantry, and led campaigns against the Ethiopian 
and other peoples. 

The paintings represent various trades; manufacture of 
linen cloth, farming and hunting, wrestling, dancing, book- 
keeping. The whipping of servants and the punishment of 
subjects are illustrated; fishermen dragging nets to the shore; 
geese and wild fowl being snared, and women playing on 
harps. Portraits of Ameni and his two wives are outlined. 

The next tomb is that of Knumhopt, grandson of Ameni. 
He is represented standing amid his favorite dogs, while 
toward him advances a procession which was for a long time 



The Tomb of Tih. 255 

supposed to represent the arrival of Joseph's brethren in Egypt. 
The first figure is a scribe who presents an account of the arrival 
of the strangers; in the next another Egyptian ushers them 
into his presence, bearing gifts. The men have aquiline 
noses and black beards, and wear sandals; the women have 
boots reaching to the ankle. This is the most ancient known 
example of those immigrations of an Asiatic race "which 
later on played so important a part in the affairs of Egypt." 
The Jews in subsequent ages were attracted by the fertility of 
the country; but that these were not Joseph's brethren is 
proved by the fact that the tombs were excavated several cen- 
turies before his time, and that the name and the number of 
the people written over the tombs is inconsistent with the Bib- 
lical account. 



256 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 
A Diversified Journey. 

Village of Beni-Hassan — Methods Used by Beggars — Sugar Factory — Dom 
Palms — Asyoot — Oriental Market Scenes. 

On the way to and from the tombs we passed the village of 
Beni-Hassan, notorious for ferocity, filth, and thieving pro- 
pensities. We saw many of the inhabitants, a few who looked 
savage, others resembling the people along the Nile generally. 
The children are like the majority of the Egyptian children, 
sweet-tempered and vivacious. They followed us, crying, ' '■Back- 
sheesh, backsheesh." Those who were disappointed would 
sometimes cry, but no such persuaders exist in the world as the 
Egyptian girls. They bow and smile, and use winning and 
beautiful gestures. Zincke says that an Arab girl to whom he 
had refused to give suddenly sprang forward and threw her- 
self on the ground exactly in the donkey's path, and became 
violently convulsed with a storm of uncontrollable agony. In 
her convulsions she shrieked and threw dust on her head. He 
rode on, taking no notice of her. She reenacted the scene, 
but finding that he was not moved "with nature's mother wit 
and arts well known before," for the remainder of the way 
she ran along, still extending her hand, but now all winsome 
smiles. 

One boy that we saw was so nearly naked that it would 
hardly be an exaggeration to say that he was. He came 
toward us carrying a big stone with which he beat upon his 
chest, and with an agonized expression held out his hand for 
backsheesh. We declined. He struck himself again. We 
shouted, "Go away." He drew back the stone as if he 
intended to throw it at us. We smiled, he laughed, and the 
crowd shouted. 

At the ship we witnessed a disgraceful scene. A crowd of 
more than one hundred men, women, and children, from 
seventy-five years of age to five, the majority being from 



A Diversified Journey. 257 

fifteen to thirty, some entirely naked, and others holding up 
what little clothes they had to catch the backsheesh, oranges, 
and other fruits, screaming like wild animals, and throwing 
every possible expression into their faces. As wildly absorbed 
as though drunk or insane, they scrambled, fought, and 
plunged into the water. Little girls were lifted by boys and 
pushed farther toward the steamer, and when the money was 
thrown to them older boys would leap upon them and push 
them down into the water. There must have been a score of 
fights, and more than ten score of blows struck during the 
scrimmage. 

When the excitement was highest the Sheik, with his long, 
black robe and turban, appeared with a club in his hand, and 
went among the crowd, beating them terrifically. A guard 
also beat them over the head and shoulders with a koorbash, a 
whip of hippopotamus hide. This was genuine beating, for 
the children ran away screaming, and the resounding whack 
of the club and the whip could be heard. Several ladies re- 
treated, but two American girls said, " It was the custom of 
the country, and they were there to see it." Yet the moment 
the Sheik's back was turned the crowd turned about, and the 
yell began. While the Sheik remained they were fighting 
among themselves, but did not resist him; though we saw two 
or three appearing to do so. At the close the Sheik himself, 
though not mingling with the crowd, stood at one side bowing 
and stretching forth his hand for backsheesh. 

Soon after the steamer moved off we observed that the river 
left the mountains and made a bend toward the west, and in 
a little while we stopped at Roda, where is one of the largest 
sugar factories on the Nile. We explored it under the guid- 
ance of Abraham and a government officer. It is owned 
and managed by the Khedive, is lighted by gas, and 
employs two thousand persons. The machinery, made in 
France, is elaborate and costly. The workmen were almost 
naked, and hundreds were lying asleep with scarcely any 
clothes on, as black as the floor on which they slept, hav- 
ing nowhere else to go. They packed themselves together 
until the length of the side of a room was taken up; then 
another row was started, the heads of the second row beinar at 



25S Travels in Three Continents. 

the feet of the first; and so on until the room was filled, leav- 
ing only a space about a foot and a half wide for a walk. 
Their wages are exceedingly small. 

In former times the Khedive raised all the cane for the 
factory, but on account of the quantities eaten by the natives 
and the workmen, found that he was losing money. Now 
the men raise the cane, which the Khedive buys at prac- 
tically his own price. It is peculiarly sweet and pleasant to 
the taste. We observed each process; first the crushing of 
the cane, then the passing of the sap through sieves to clear 
it from impurity, then into boilers, then into clarifying and 
cooling vats until it was brought out into different qualities of 
sugar. The superintendent of each department conducted 
us through it. Some could speak English, and where they 
could not our dragoman interpreted. On reaching one room 
the ladies of the party were shocked at seeing an almost 
naked workman in one of the bins perspiring profusely, the 
perspiration mingling with the sugar. " My! " said one of the 
ladies, "I would never want to eat that sugar! " But it was 
thrown by him into a " whizzer," and when the machinery 
stopped, and the sugar had been shoveled into a box, the 
superintendent took up some, and the identical ladies who 
had seen the process pressed forward to taste it. A sage 
commented thus: "After all, do not the fattest cooks knead 
the best bread? And in many European bakeries men tramp 
barefooted up and down the troughs as an expeditious mode 
of kneading." Having gone through sugar factories in the 
South, and canning establishments in the North, such an inci- 
dent as this had no effect upon my nerves, and I enjoyed eating 
the sugar more than I would highly colored confectionery. 

There was nothing monotonous in the scenery of the Nile. 
Charles Dudley Warner says truly: "The scenes are never 
twice alike. The combinations vary, the desert comes near 
and recedes, the mountains advance in bold precipices, or fall 
away." The living tableaux furnish great variety. We were 
never out of sight of boats, some handsome and beautifully 
painted, others short and dirty, and upon their decks men, 
women, and children, "clothed in all the hues of heaven and 
the rags of earth." 



WSBS 







_ v W •»*•*£ ■ - **! ^(ft ....-• 



A Diversified Journey. 261 

We caught a glimpse of the first dom palms we had seen, after 
passing the ruins of Hermopolis. They differ from ordinary 
palms in the fact that the lower part of the stem, which is 
single, divides into two branches, and these again into two. 
The top is covered with large, fan-shaped leaves, under which 
the fruit grows. When ripe it resembles gingerbread in 
taste, and is eaten by the natives. The nut that grows in the 
center is so hard that the carpenters of Egypt long used it for 
the socket of their drills. Before it is fully ripe it resembles 
horn, but the inhabitants of Ethiopia, who utilize everything, 
are said to eat it. The bluffs, called Gebel-Aboofayda 
twenty-five or thirty miles farther up the river, extend along 
the east bank about ten miles. They are precipitous, and 
cause sudden gusts by their obstruction of atmospheric cur- 
rents. Here many birds and wild ducks sailed out from caves 
in the rocks. On the top of those rocks are pits containing 
thousands of crocodile mummies. 

At length Asyoot, beautiful for situation, appeared on the 
west bank of the river. It is the capital of the province of 
Asyoot, two hundred and forty-seven and a half miles from 
Cairo by water, and a few miles less by rail. Its population 
is thirty-two thousand. The course of the river for ten or 
twelve miles, with its sharp turns or angles, causes the city to 
appear first on one side and then on the other. The Libyan 
mountains, a few miles behind it, glow in the sunlight, while 
many river views and bits of water, appearing like small 
lakes or artificial canals, beautify the foreground. This city 
is the capital of Upper Egypt. Its name is a great stumbling- 
block to travelers. It is written Asioot, Asyoot, Asiut, Ssout, 
Sioout, Osyoot, Osioot, O'Sioot, Siiit, Sioot, O'Siout, Si-66t, 
Siout, Syouth, and so on indefinitely. 

Fifteen minarets could be counted projecting above the 
groves of palm and acacia. An embankment, ornamented 
with trees, extends to the town, which is entered through an 
old gateway and courtyard, forming part of the governor's 
palace. At Asyoot the market presented the most oriental 
view of such a scene obtained during all our African journeys. 
Men, women, children, and animals were crowded in seem- 
ingly inextricable confusion. The people looked happy, though 



262 Travels in Three Continents. 

they were so jammed that there was scarce room for our little 
donkeys to go through, such was the mass of camels, donkeys, 
and sacred cows, which, like many other alleged sacred things, 
are common and even unclean when visited in the place of 
their nativity. With the braying asses, growling camels, 
bawling cows, cackling fowls, bellowing buffalos, vociferation 
of buyers and sellers, and yells of water carriers, it was a 
veritable Babel. 



ASYOOT TO THE TEMPLE OF DENDERAH. 26" 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Asyoot to the Temple of Denderah. 

Bazaars and Market Place — Starting Point of English Expedition to the 
Soudan — Ancient Lycopolis — Evidences of Roman Occupation — Mission of 
United Presbyterian Church — Ophthalmia Prevalent in Egypt — Scenes at 
Farshoot and Keneh — The Temple of Denderah. 

The bazaars are superior to most outside of Cairo. The 
articles sold are brought from Cairo and all parts of Egypt, 
Arabia, Nubia, and Abyssinia. In former times caravans 
arrived from the far South bearing tropical productions and 
manufactures of the equatorial regions; and an extensive busi- 
ness was done with the Soudan, which for the most part has 
been destroyed by the wars of the Mahdi and his successors. 
The red and black pottery of Asyoot is of wide celebrity. In 
the market place a multitude of jars of the inferior sort was 
offered for sale, and in the bazaars the finest work. The 
caravans from Darfoor formerly brought cinnamon, gum 
arable, tusks, and ostrich feathers. We saw a small caravan. 
The acacia trees furnish the true gum arabic, which slowly 
exudes through the bark. 

The city was practically the starting point of the English 
expedition to the Soudan in 1S84. Stores for the army were 
brought by railway, and conveyed to the Second Cataract by 
steam and sail. Eight hundred rowboats, which took the 
English troops over the difficult pass of the river south of 
Wady Halfah, were placed in the Nile at this point. 

Here stood the ancient Lycopolis, the City of Wolves. 
The wolf was counted sacred by the people, and these animals 
were numerous in the neighborhood. In the caves and the 
recesses of the rocks in the Libyan mountains wolf mummies 
can still be found. We came upon several which at the time 
we supposed to be dogs. Mummy jackals also are there; 
visitors to the British Museum can see the best preserved 
specimens. Our ride to the tombs and the grottoes abun- 



264 Travels in Three Continents. 

dantly repaid us. We ascended the spurs of the Libyan 
mountains and saw catacombs with vaulted ceilings, ele- 
gantly sculptured, which a critic says might be taken for 
Greek patterns if one did not know that the ceiling is older 
than Greek art. 

Evidences of Roman occupation remain. During the earlier 
Christian ages these tombs were occupied by Christians, some 
of whom fled from persecution, and others resorted thither to 
lead lives of monkish solitude. When Theodosius the Chris- 
tian was desirous to discover the will of God he could not, after 
the manner of his pagan ancestors, consult the oracle at 
Delphi, but heard of a monk in Egypt supposed to have the 
gift of miracles and the power of reading the future. Accord- 
ing to tradition, he sent Eutropius from Constantinople to 
Alexandria, whence he ascended the Nile to Lycopolis. Here 
a holy monk, named John, dwelt in the side of the mountain, 
in a cell where he lived fifty years " without opening his door, 
without seeing the face of a woman, and without tasting any 
food that had been prepared by fire or any human art." He 
spent five days in prayer and meditation; on Saturdays and 
Sundays he opened a window and gave audience to the sup- 
pliants who came from all parts of the Christian world. He 
gave Theodosius a favorable answer which is said to have been 
fulfilled. 

I visited an institution not mentioned by Charles Dudley 
Warner or referred to by Miss Edwards, but which is worthy 
of the attention of any who propose to describe a country as 
it is — the Mission of L 'ne united Presbyterian Church of North 
America. The college buildings are commodious, eligibly 
situated, a little out of town, on a broad lawn surrounded by 
gardens. Here more than four hundred students are annually 
instructed. They are mostly Copts, though a considerable 
number of Mohammedans are among them. 

Most of the officers were absent attending the annual meet- 
ing of the Mission, but we were courteously received. This 
college has by genuine merit secured the high approbation of 
all who know anything of its work. 

Ophthalmia prevails in Egypt, the majority of the people 
being more or less affected by it. The number of one-eyed 



ASYOOT TO THE TEMPLE OF DENDERAH. 265 

persons and of those with acutely diseased eyes is so great 
that Miss Edwards affirms that as many as one in twenty of 
the persons in certain districts are blind or partly so, and that 
she saw so many children of four or five years old with the 
surface of one or both eyes eaten away that she had not been 
many weeks on the Nile before she began to avoid syste- 
matic exploring of native towns whenever it was practicable to 
do so. 

We had an instructive but painful opportunity of seeing how 
prevalent this disease is. Professor Hirschberg, an oculist of 
Berlin, called some of the students into a room and made an 
examination of their eyes as a part of his study of the subject 
of ophthalmia. Not one of the fifteen had a thoroughly sound 
eye; some were blind in one eye, two were hopelessly diseased, 
and the remainder in various degrees of imperfection, several 
of whom, without attention, would in his opinion soon become 
totally blind. Everything about the college was scrupulously 
clean and neat. We were informed, soon after arriving, that 
Dr. Isaac G. Bliss, for nearly forty years missionary of the 
American Board, and at the head of the Bible House in Constan- 
tinople, who, accompanied by his wife, was making a journey 
through Egypt for his health, had been taken ill, and was 
supposed to be dying. The young gentleman who traveled 
with me was a fellow-student of a son of Dr. Bliss in Amherst 
College, and bore from the young man to his father a letter 
of introduction, which he intended to present in Constanti- 
nople. Their forebodings were fulfilled by the event, for Dr. 
Bliss died that day, and holy men bore him to his burial place, 
by the side of Dr. Hogge, the founder of the Mission, in a 
cemetery just outside the city, given by a wealthy Mohamme- 
dan who had been converted to Christianity. 

When we left Asyoot the scenery began to take on a trop- 
ical aspect. The heat was intense; the air, however, as dry 
as the broiling sun and the hot sands of the desert could make 
it. The heavy evaporation from the Nile did not appear to 
moisten it eighteen inches from the water. In the morning 
it was impossible to sit upon the eastern side of the boat, or 
on the western side in the afternoon. The absence of humid- 
ity made the temperature endurable. 



266 Travels in Three Continents. 

In the vicinity of Farshoot we caught glimpses of flocks of 
sheep guarded by the Howara dogs, famous from ancient 
times — large, fierce-looking, with rough black coats, and a 
courage unsurpassed by any breed of dogs in the world. 
Groves of palms and acacia trees lined the banks. 

At Keneh we made the usual visits to the bazaars, tasted 
the excellent dates, and saw the manufactories of porous 
water jars and bottles. 

There and elsewhere we were astonished to see the enor- 
mous weight which in water jars the women would bear on 
their heads. No one who sees an Egyptian woman carry 
these can fail to recognize the connection between walking 
with a weight upon the head and the most graceful carriage. 
Egyptian women have a bearing which the women of other 
countries might covet. A friend informed me that he had 
seen women of ordinary size who could uplift water jars weigh- 
ing one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and walk a long dis- 
tance with them without the slightest difficulty. 

The Temple of Denderah is in an excellent state of preserva- 
tion; much of it hardly deserves to be called a ruin. Here, for 
the first time, an unpleasant peculiarity of the tour appeared. 
Our dragoman was not an archaeologist or an Egyptologist, but 
he knew thoroughly what he had been taught, could recite it dis- 
tinctly, and his interlocutory remarks were amusing. Two pas- 
sengers, one an Englishman and the other a German, had formed 
their ideas from books, and were continually contradicting and 
puzzling the conductor. The majority knew only what they had 
read in a general way, and wished to have Abraham unfold his 
story. They were there to be led, not to make reputations 
as antiquarians, or to contend with Wilkinson, Mariette, Lep- 
sius, and other authorities. These men, however, so contra- 
dicted him, for a considerable part of the time, that he did not 
know what to say, and the tourists generally were in confusion. 
At the end it became necessary to administer heroic treatment 
to these untimely combatants; their pertinacity was frowned 
upon until it gradually gave way to more decorous conduct, 
which desirable consummation was hastened by several egre- 
gious blunders into which they fell. 

Mariette gives, in five lines, the history of the Temple of 



ASYOOT TO THE TEMPLE OF DeNDERAH. 267 

Denderah: "Its foundations were laid under Ptolemy the 
nth, otherwise Theodosius; though some authorities would 
make it Ptolemy the ioth. Its construction was finished un- 
der Tiberius and its decoration under Nero. Jesus Christ was 
living at Jerusalem when this temple was being completed." 

No analogy can be drawn between the temple and any 
known modern church. None except the king and priests 
were ever allowed to enter. Within, in total darkness, the 
fetes were celebrated and processions organized. The dark- 
ness served the purpose of preserving the precious objects, 
the sacred vestments, from ravages of insects and from dust 
and sun. The outline drawings and the coloring in the 
Temple of Dendei-ah are unsurpassed. Forty-two names of 
Osiris are found on the forty-two gnomes on the ceiling. 
Hathor, worshiped there, is the pupil of the sun's eye, and 
therefore the Egyptians made her the Goddess of Beauty, for 
they put beauty chiefly in the eyes. She has many beautiful 
titles; and personifies the harmony of the world. One of her 
names is Sothis, the equivalent of Sirius. She is therefore the 
goddess who governs the periodical return of the year, an- 
nounces the rising of the river, appears at the eastern horizon, 
and foretells the renewal of nature. 



268 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER. XXXIV. 
Denderah and Nile Experiences. 

Forgotten Credentials — Chapel of Isis — Stories of the Tentyrites — Inhabit- 
ants of Orubos — The Crocodile — The Shadoof and Sakeeyah — Silence in 
Egypt. 

We were obliged to purchase a certificate that we had paid 
an English pound toward the preservation of the remains in 
Egypt. This document, beautifully written, was placed in 
our hands, and we were required to show it when called for. 
Quite a number of tourists who had duly purchased had left 
the credentials on the ship. Our party, with prudence, were 
provided, but we were not disposed to enter until all could be 
admitted. When Abraham arrived, he towered over the un- 
fortunate guard with such vigorous ostentation that he suc- 
ceeded in securing the admission of the delinquents, on pledg- 
ing his honor that the assistant dragoman should immediately 
proceed to the ship and procure the credentials. The guard, 
however, was not entirely subdued. He felt that he must 
magnify his office, and made us as uncomfortable as possible. 

We ascended the broad stone terraces which possess an 
aspect of dignity and grandeur seldom surpassed. On one 
gateway is a representation of the sun with its sacred emblem, 
the hawk, supported by two gods. In the chapel of Isis we 
saw the figured cow before which the Sepoys prostrated them- 
selves when the English Indian army landed in Egypt in 1800. 
Abraham dwelt upon this, and avowed the opinion that the 
religions were identical; but it has been well said that the ac- 
cidental worship of the same animal in Egypt and India is not 
sufficient to prove any direct connection between the two re- 
ligions. 

I went as deeply into these mysteries as time, reflection, 
books, and conversation would allow, but they are too com- 
plex to retain, unless one gives himself to a special and con- 
tinuous studv of them. 



Denderah and Nile Experiences. 



269 



Oa the walls are the names of Augustus and of his four suc- 
cessors in the empire, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. 
But on an older part 
of the structure is the 
name of the Egyptian 
son of the greatest of 
the Ca;sars, together 
with his mother's, the 
Egyptian enchantress, 
Cleopatra. Its several 
portraits of Cleopatra 
attracted more atten- 
tion. 

To the southeast of 
Denderah are grottoes 
and numerous tombs. 
Scattered over the des- 
ert are stones that were 
made round by rolling. 
They are of granite 
and porphyry, and 
show traces of an an- 
cient rush of waters. 

Of the Tentyrites, 
who from the earli- 
est times dwelt here- 
abouts, extraordinary 
stories are told. Pliny's 
Natural History con- 
tains several which de- 
lighted my childhood, 
illustrating realistic- 
ally their marvelous 
power over the croco- 
dile. The philosopher 
Seneca did not think 
it beneath him to attempt to explain their control over them. 
He accounted for it by the contempt and consciousness of 
superiority they felt in attacking their enemy, and adds that 
15 




Cleopatra — Temple of Denderah. 



270 Travels in Three Continents. 

those of them who were deficient in presence of mind were 
frequently killed. On this an English writer, reasoning, says: 
"The crocodile is in fact a timid animal. Usually it flies at 
the approach of man, and only ventures to attack its prey on 
a sudden." He calls attention to the fact that we seldom or 
never hear of persons devoured by it, unless they are standing 
in shallow water on the sloping shore of a river, whereby the 
immense power of its tail is able to throw down and overcome 
the strongest man, who, being carried immediately to the bot- 
tom of the river, has neither the time nor the means to resist. 

Abraham related an amazing story of a man who was 
knocked senseless in this way, and the crocodile drew him 
under the water; but when it was supposed that he was prob- 
ably bisected he reappeared and floated near the shore, and 
on being restored to consciousness said he drew his knife and 
stabbed the crocodile. This could not be believed; but a few 
days later the body of the crocodile floated, and was found to 
have a stab exactly as the man had stated. 

While the Tentyrites hated the crocodile, their neighbors, 
the inhabitants of Ombos, worshiped it, and resented, with all 
the rage of a sectarian feud, the killing and eating of "the 
godlike animal." The reason for worshiping the crocodile is 
supposed to be that, as it came in with the Nile, it became the 
symbol of the life-giving water; but in other departments, 
which had too much water, it was not the crocodile, but the 
ichneumon, the enemy of the crocodile, which was worshiped. 
The ichneumon is a curious animal the size of an ordinary cat. 
Among foreigners it goes by the name of "Pharaoh's Cat." 
It lives on rats and mice, birds and reptiles, is occasionally 
tamed, and serves the purpose of a cat. It is particularly fond 
of eggs, and as the crocodile buries its eggs in a thin covering 
of sand on the river banks, and the ichneumon destroys them, 
the ancient Egyptians regarded it as sacred, and buried it in 
' ' holy repositories ! " 

The crocodile is as valuable in the water as the hyena and 
vulture upon the land. It lives entirely on animal food, and 
prefers tainted to fresh meat; therefore, naturalists say that 
it is of great service in devouring dead animals that would 
otherwise pollute the waters and the surrounding atmosphere. 



Deinderah and Nile Experiences. 273, 

Having seen both alligators and crocodiles in Florida and 
Louisiana, I hoped to see a crocodile on the Nile, but one 
might spend years there and not find one below the First Cat- 
aract. Only a few years ago they were numerous. 

Charles Dudley Warner saw one. Lord Ducie in 1872 
killed a full-grown specimen fourteen feet long, recovered the 
carcass, and in its stomach found evidence that it was a child 
eater. This was about one hundred and seventy miles north 
of the First Cataract, and not far from this point. 

Mariette explains that the reason we do not find them now is 
because the crocodile is driven farther and farther south by 
the firearms of travelers and the constant passing of steamers. 
Similar treatment is driving out the alligators in the Southern 
States. 

A picturesque and never monotonous spectacle to the Nile 
traveler is the working of the various machines employed to 
irrigate the land during the time of low water. The principal 
is the shadoof. This machine is the oldest with which the 
race is historically acquainted, and it is maintained that in no 
invention in modern times is the result so great in proportion 
to the degree of power employed. The best and briefest de- 
scription that we have seen represents it as consisting of two 
posts, about five feet in height and three apart, connected 
at the top by a horizontal bar; across this is slung the branch 
of a tree, having at one end a weight composed of mud, and 
at the other, suspended by two palm sticks, a bucket made of 
basket work, matting, or a hoop with woolen stuff or leather. 
This is worked by one man. Goatskin buckets are often 
used. The man who operates it stands on the edge of the 
river; before him is a hole full of water fed from the stream. 
He takes hold of the cord by which the empty bucket is sus- 
pended, and, bending down, by the weight of his shoulders 
dips it in the water; he then rises, with his hands still on the 
cord; this gives the bucketful of water an upward movement, 
and the weight strung on the other end of the pole presses 
downward and it is lifted over to a trough, into which, as it 
tilts, the water is poured. 

One man can run this machine and lift water from six to 
eight feet. The men keep on all day, gracefully bowing and 



274 Travels in Three Continents. 

rising. Their feet are in the water and their heads in the sun; 
they wear little clothing — a flesh-colored cloth around the 
loins, and a tight-fitting skullcap. As the river sinks it is 
necessary to have a series of shadoofs, and in the course of 
our journey we often saw two or three, and sometimes five, 
one above the other. In this case the one nearest the river 
throws the water up into a hole; the second takes it from that 
to a rude reservoir; the third into still another; and so on 
until the last, from which it is emptied into the trough. 

The other machine is the sakeeyeh. This is a wheel, some- 
times as much as twenty-five feet in diameter. Around its 
circumference earthen pots are tied by cords. There is 
another small wheel with cogs fixed to the axis, and a large 
horizontal cogged wheel. This is turned by one or two buf- 
faloes, cows, or other animals, sets the other two wheels in 
motion, and raises the water in the pots. This is frequently 
used for gardens along the shore. Some of the water wheels 
in use in the Fayoum admit of being turned by the weight of 
the water. The sakeeyeh much resembles the chain pump, 
once common in the United States. 

Travelers are in the habit of complaining of the frightful 
noise made by these machines, which are never greased, and 
produce now a frightful groan, then a growl resembling that 
of a camel; sometimes a shrill, prolonged shriek, like that of 
a hound chained in a kennel in the corner of a barn; but 
I never found it wearisome, and could readily understand that 
it was music in the ears of the poor fellahs who operate the 
machines. 

Egypt is the quietest country in the world; when the wind 
does not blow the silence is appalling. There are few trees; 
few vehicles traveling over the road to make a noise; and if 
there were, their passage over the soft sand would be noise- 
less. A healthy nervous system requires some noise the greater 
part of the time; and silent work, a great authority declares, 
is far more taxing than that which is accompanied by a mod- 
erate amount of racket. 



Thebes. 275 



CHAPTER XXXV. 
Thebes. 

Approaching Thebes — Situation — History — Village of Luxor — Ruins and Vil- 
lage Life Contrasted — "Father Abraham's " Knowledge of Antiquities — 
"Antiquity Smith" — Avenue of Sphinxes — Karnak — Description of Great 
Temple — Weird Scene. 

As we sailed from Denderah, enthusiastic in its praises, an 
experienced traveler, pointing southward, said with a signifi- 
cant smile, " Wait! " 

Long before reaching renowned Thebes, majestic ruins,, ex- 
tending for miles in every direction, and the lofty Libyan and 
more distant Arabian mountains came into sight. We gazed 
upon them with a curiosity which both stimulated and 
subdued, aware that here the grandest of the world's ruins 
culminate in a sublimity before which warriors, sages, phi- 
losophers, historians, and travelers of every nation reverently 
bow, rising to ask who were those mighty beings, what was the 
purpose of their colossal creations, how were they achieved, 
and what has caused such a race to disappear from the face 
of the earth? 

Thebes, whose ruins fascinate, appall, stun, defying the im- 
agination, confounding the reason, justifies the statement of 
Belzoni, that it appeared to him "like entering a city of the 
giants, who after a long contest had all been destroyed, leav- 
ing their vast temples as the only proofs of their existence." 
To form any idea of the city the first fact to fix in the mind is 
that Thebes extended many miles on both banks of the river 
Nile, just as St. Petersburg occupies both sides of the Neva, 
London of the Thames, Paris of the Seine, Florence of the 
Arno, and Philadelphia of the Schuylkill. The Nile is much 
wider than the Thames, Seine, or Arno, and even wider than 
the Neva. Dean Stanley says: "Alone of the cities of Egypt 
the situation of Thebes is as beautiful by nature as by art." 

The Arabian and Libyan mountains, which have followed the 



276 Travels in Three Continents. 

river like monotonous walls on either side, always near them 
■at varying distances, now form a circle whose diameter is so 
great as to produce a wide plain which, well inundated and 
irrigated at the season of the year when we were there, was 
green and beautiful. At its northern extremity the Lib- 
yan mountains become elevated and massive, the Arabian 
being ten or twelve miles distant, and over all this vast plain 
spread the great city of Thebes. Mariette says that Thebes 
makes her first appearance in history with the kings of the 
eleventh dynasty, which he puts 3,064 years before the birth of 
Christ. Brugsch assigns it to 2500 B. C, while Wilkinson 
would make it only 1784 B. C. 

Not until the eighteenth dynasty does the real glory of 
Thebes begin. Amenophis I extended the boundaries of 
Egypt. Thothmes I carried them into Syria, and introduced 
the horse into Egypt. In the reign of Thothmes II Egypt 
"placed its frontier where it pleased," and Amenophis III 
carried his arms far into the Soudan. The nineteenth dynasty 
was also one of great glory. Sethi, or Meneptah I, erected 
many magnificent monuments in Thebes, and his tomb is the 
most remarkable of all identified there. In this dynasty ap- 
peared Rameses II in a splendid reign of sixty-seven years. 
He placed his name upon nearly every important monument in 
Egypt, and the history of his career is most frequently found 
in inscriptions and papyrus rolls. He erected many of the 
edifices now most splendid ruins. In the twentieth dynasty is 
enrolled Rameses III, "the last of the famous warrior kings of 
Egypt." He established intercourse by land and sea with the 
countries on the shores of the Indian Ocean. His successors 
all bore the name of Rameses, but with that dynasty the glory 
of Thebes begins visibly to decline. 

Amenophis had built at Karnak a portion of a temple, now 
destroyed, and his statue, of huge proportions, still adorns the 
southwest front of the third entrance to the south. Thothmes I 
began in front of the sanctuary the series of halls, pylons, and 
obelisks. Under Thothmes III and Amenophis III Thebes 
greatly increased in population and size, and Sethi I sum- 
moned sculptors and engravers from all parts of Egypt to 
carve his history upon the monuments of Thebes. He erected 



Thebes. 277 

seventy-eight out of one hundred and thirty-four columns of 
the great hall of columns at Karnak. Rameses II did but 
little in Karnak. 

At last, after various ravages, desecrations, and restorations, 
Ptolemy Lathyrus laid siege to Thebes and sacked it, since 
which it has had no place in history. Its downfall was com- 
plete before the time of Christ, and " Strabo found nothing 
remaining of Thebes but a collection of villages assembled 
over its ruins." 

Luxor is now a market town. Its temple is said by some 
antiquarians to offer but slight interest to the visitor, but I 
cannot agree with this disparaging view. The plan of the 
temple is peculiar and pleasing in its very irregularity, which 
is supposed to have originated from the fact that it rises ab- 
ruptly from the edge of the river, and was constructed ' to 
follow its windings. It is less striking than it would be if a 
considerable part of the grand court had not been occupied by 
an ugly mosque. 

The village of Luxor is adjacent to the ruins of the temple, 
many of the houses actually within. Two towers without their 
cornices, and surrounded by debris, are commanding, and made 
more so by the Colossus on each side of the central gateway. 
One of the obelisks is of red granite, covered with hiero- 
glyphics, cut in many instances two inches in depth. It is 
about eighty-four feet high. Visitors to Paris have seen, 
in the Place de la Concorde, its companion, which is seventy- 
seven feet high. 

The sitting statues of Rameses received but a glance as we 
passed on to look at the battle scenes on the front of the two 
towers. 

The hall within was nearly two hundred feet by one hundred 
and seventy, and the length' of the colonnade and the next 
court was one hundred and seventy feet. The inscriptions 
depict chariots, kings' chariots being shaded by umbrellas, 
horses, and spoils taken from enemies. 

Few kings did anything for Luxor except to engrave their 
names on parts of the wall that had been left blank by their 
predecessors. Some restored a portion of the temple. The 
contrast is complete between these ruins and the curious life 



278 Travels in Three Continents. 

of the village of Luxor. On the edge were dogs, camels, 
donkeys, geese, chickens, pigeons, turkeys, all making their 
characteristic sounds; naked children, women working and 
walking in lanes that run among the ruins; the human be- 
ings as unconscious of the glory of their ancestors as the 
brutes are of the signification of the hieroglyphics on the 
temples. According to the law all excavations are forbidden 
in Egypt, yet travelers constantly demand antiquities as sou- 
venirs. Our companions purchased largely, though with the 
exception of comparatively common remains there was little 
reason to believe in the genuineness of any of the statu- 
ettes, stelce (inscribed tablets of granite and other stone), and 
scarabcei (sacred beetles). Some of the manufacturers can 
imitate the genuine with such skill as occasionally to deceive 
experienced antiquarians. Our dragoman dealt in antiquities, 
and claimed the ability to detect the spurious. To test him, 
a tourist secured one of the skillful imitators to manufacture a 
statuette. This the traveler kept for twenty-four hours, and 
then exhibited it to " Father Abraham," as our conductor was 
familiarly called, asking him its age. He examined it, using 
tests of his own, and answered that it was about one week 
old. After this his credit rose greatly, and he had no difficulty 
in selling whatever he had to offer. 

I made inquiry for the famous " Antiquity Smith," who lived 
twenty years an exile at Thebes, most of that time the only 
foreign resident in the place. Charles Dudley Warner says 
that he " looked, like a superannuated agent of the Tract 
Society, of the long, thin, shrewd, learned Yankee type." He 
was born in Connecticut, reared in New Jersey, and lived for 
seventeen years among the Arabs, and Mr. Warner justly says: 
" Few men have enjoyed his advantages for sharpening the 
wits." But Mr. Smith had made a fortune and returned to 
the United States, leaving the reputation of being sharper than 
any Arab in Egypt, and also of being the best judge of antiq- 
uities, able to buy them at the lowest and sell them at the 
highest price. 

Having finished the exploration of the Temple of Luxor, 
we mounted our donkeys for the ride to Karnak, about two 
and a half miles. The plain seemed wider than it was, because 



Thebes. 279 

the Nile was not in sight. There were a few hills, and a large 
part of the country was sterile. Clusters of dwarf palms and 
many sycamores relieved the monotony. 

In due time we reached the Avenue of the Sphinxes, about 
a mile in length, named so because originally bordered with 
Sphinxes, of which a number remain. Generally they have 
the head of a woman on a lion's body, and between their fore- 
feet is a statue of Amenophis III. 

Farther on the Sphinxes have rams' heads, on which account 
it is called the Avenue of the Crio-Sphinx. 

In a straight line Karnak is said to be two miles from Luxor, 
and, estimating the intervals between the Sphinxes destroyed 
and those standing, it is concluded that there must have been 
two hundred and fifty on each side of the road. Some Sphinxes 
are ten feet in length. On reaching the Propylon, or grand 
gateway, we saw at once why Karnak is described as the most 
wonderful pile of ruins that can be imagined. The temple is 
a monument of unparalleled grandeur, whose proportions and 
bewildering mass quite overpower the imagination. On our 
various visits we found, too, the truth of the saying, " That 
one has never seen enough of Karnak, and the more often one 
visits it the more stupendous it appears." 

I have in memory a perfect picture of this vast pile. Were 
I an artist I could paint it, an engraver I could engrave 
it; but it is impossible to portray it in words, for it can- 
not be comprehended in one view. Unity of plan it never 
had, and earthquakes and the devastations of war and the 
slow disintegration of time have obscured its original out- 
lines. 

The view of the whole is grander than that of any of its 
parts, though none of these are insignificant, and many are 
colossal. The gateway is three hundred and seventy feet in 
breadth; and one tower, which it is possible to ascend, one 
hundred and forty feet in height, remains standing, and from 
this a striking view of the whole can be taken. 

The court has been well styled a perfect forest of magnificent 
columns. The temple is not far from two miles in circumfer- 
ence; its walls are twenty-five feet thick at the base, and eighty 
feet high, and the columns just referred to are thirty-six feet 



2S0 Travels in Three Continents. 

in circumference, and covered by hieroglyphics, with capitals 
of different patterns, richly painted. 

There are eleven temples at Karnak. The Great Temple, 
the work of many kings, is a considerable distance to the 
north. All travelers have noticed that most of the temples 
face different points of the compass. This temple looks 
toward Luxor, because connected with it by the Avenue of 
Sphinxes. 

Here was an excellent opportunity for testing the keys 
which antiquarians have devised to unlock these ancient mys- 
teries. They endured the test as we stood for a long time de- 
ciphering the historic inscriptions upon this wonderful portal 
of Ptolemy. At last we entered the Great Temple. The 
high Hypostyle Hall is the grandest single apartment and the 
most spacious ever constructed by the Egyptians. A critic 
says: " Figures do me no good; when you say that the hall is 
two hundred and fifty feet square, I know nothing about it." 
I know of no means, however, of giving the size of a ruin but 
by figures; those who have trouble in conceiving- the space 
need only to ascertain the dimensions of the nearest church to 
obtain a standard for comparison. This wondrous hall meas- 
ures three hundred and thirty-four English feet by one hundred 
and sixty-seven. It was originally covered, daylight being ad- 
mitted only by grated windows. 

The external south wall is covered by bas-reliefs of historic 
significance. The principle is: "So many castellated car- 
touches, so many localities conquered. " A little farther along 
is an entire poem composed in honor of Rameses II. On the 
outer wall to the north is a series of pictures that contain the 
history of the campaigns of Sethi I in western Asia. 

Leaving the hall and passing between the towers, a list is 
seen of the donations made by one king to the temple, includ- 
ing a large number of precious stones and metals. 

"We went to the Hall of the Obelisks and the Fourteen Col- 
umns. In the center the daughter of Thothmes I, who was re- 
gent until her brothers succeeded, raised the two most gigantic 
obelisks which exist; one lies on its side, the other (named 
Hatasou) is upright. It is one hundred and eight feet and ten 
inches high, while that which I saw at Heliopolis is sixty-six 



Thebes. 



281 



feet six inches. The inscriptions record that the summit of 
this obelisk was covered with pure gold, and that the whole 
was gilded from top to bottom; it towers still amid those 




Temple of Karnak. 



ruins like a giant. In our hands we carried the plans, tables, 
interpretations; but our dragoman relieved us of. the trouble of 
identifying except in disputed cases. I was very much inter- 



282 Travels in Three Continents. 

ested in the descriptions most accurately rendered by the hier- 
oglyphic names of the first of the many campaigns of Thothmes 
III. It is in fact a synoptical table of the Promised Land 
made two hundred and seventy years before the Exodus. The 
limits are almost, though not precisely, the same as those as- 
signed, in the tenth chapter of Genesis, to the land of Canaan. 

The causes of the ruin of Karnak have been much dis- 
cussed, and different hypotheses adopted. The terrific sieges 
to which it was subjected (especially by Cambyses and the Per- 
sians); the revenge of Ptolemy, who laid siege to Thebes for 
seven months, and when it finally succumbed surrendered it 
to rapine; and earthquakes account for much of it. But it is 
agreed that the destruction of the temple is primarily the 
effect of the faults of its construction and of its relation to the 
Nile and the plain. The water of the Nile, saturated with 
niter, finds its way to and eats the bases of the columns until, 
as Mariette predicts, the time may be foreseen when with crash 
after crash the columns of the magnificent Hypostyle Hall, 
whose bases are already three quarters eaten through, will fall 
as have fallen the columns in the great court. 

In the Temple of Karnak was a tragic figure so strange and 
weird, so horrible yet fascinating, as to surpass the wildest 
fancies of Dumas or Eugene Sue. It thrilled, repelled, yet held 
the gaze until nature, half-paralyzed by the spectacle, asserted 
itself and compelled the removal of the object. A creature 
with shaven head, in the form of a human being, paralyzed, 
mute, naked, except for a rag tied around the loins, apparently 
seventy years of age, perchance not more than fifty, perhaps 
nearly one hundred, exactly the color of the ruined columns 
and the doorway, crawled out from under the broken pillars 
and huge monoliths, as a lizard might from a pile of stones. 
A mumbling, inarticulate sound came from his lips; he moved 
sideways and tried to rise, and held out his hands for alms; 
hatless, he turned his eyeballs up toward the sun, and as the 
yellow rays fell upon him and upon the pillar on which he 
leaned it was impossible to distinguish any difference in shade. 
His bronzed skin as much resembled the solid stone as green 
insects resemble the maple leaf upon which they feed. Yet 
this was human, and some of the Egyptian attendants seemed 



Thebes. 283 

to stand in awe of him, and hesitated to drive him into the 
obscurity whence he had emerged. When two endeavored 
to remove him, he exerted what strength he had and broke 
from them, falling upon the ground, and moving off with the 
sinuous sideway motion with which he had approached; but 
whenever he fell his hand was still stretched out to receive 
alms. Nothing human have I ever seen in collections of de- 
formities and idiot asylums so peculiar; nothing which so 
appeared to efface humanity and transform man into beast. 



Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Temples and Tombs of Thebes, on the West Bank of 

the Nile. 

Temple of Koornah — Approach to the Rameseum — Sculptures and Statue of 
Rameses — Ride through the Plains — Temple of Ptolemy Philopater — Bel- 
zoni's Tomb. 

Having completed our explorations of the ruins of Luxor 
and Karnak we crossed the river and proceeded to the Tem- 
ple of Koornah, or Goornah. This is the northernmost ruin 
on the west bank. It was built by Sethi I, dedicated to the 
memory of his father, Rameses I, and finished by Rameses 
II. It is small compared with the others, and surrounded by 
mounds and the ruins of Arab huts. The statue and shrine of 
Amen-ra, the dedication to Rameses II, and the sculptures 
were instructive. 

The ride to the remains of the Temple of Rameses II, usu- 
ally designated the Rameseum, was through cultivated lands, 
passing many huts and several villages. Many children were 
naked; one, about ten years of age, whose sole garment con- 
sisted of a shoe string tied around the waist, reminded us of 
a sarcasm upon the attire of certain ladies at the watering 
places, said to wear only "a sash and a smile." Adults of 
both sexes could be seen from the path, whose raiment was 
similar to that of our first parents before they resorted to fig 
leaves. The approach to the Rameseum was majestic, the 
mountains forming an imposing background, against which 
"colossal caryatids and the majestic columns stand out in 
golden relief." Rameses II must have been pleased with this 
temple, for it was built by himself and in his own honor. 

The sculptures are all historical; the scene of one of the 
principal is in Syria, being at a point in the northwest part 
of the wilderness of Zin not far from Kadesh, so often 
spoken of in the Scriptures. Here a multitude had arisen 
to repel the invasion of Rameses. The sculptures show 



Temples and Tombs of Thebes. 



zo-j 



that his escort fled, and represent Rameses as throwing him- 
self into the midst of the fight. He is shown, after the war, 
seated on his throne in royal state, officers congratulating him; 
but he rebukes them: "Not one of you behaved well in thus 
deserting me." 

In the Rameseum I tried to imagine the proportions of the 
sublime statue of Rameses. The original statue was fifty-seven 
feet and five inches in height. It was a monolith, and weighed 
upward of one thousand one hundred and ninety-eight tons. 
Of it, Stanley, in his Sinai and Palestine, says: " Nothing that 
now exists in the world can give any notion of what the effect 
must have been when he was erect. Nero, towering above the 
Colosseum, may have been something like it, but he was of 
brass, and Rameses of solid granite." Rameses was conceived 
as resting in awful majesty, " after the conquest of the whole 
known world." When we consider that the Arabs scooped 
millstones out of his face, some idea can be formed of the size 
of the head, and of the hugeness of the hands resting upon 
the "elephantine knees." This statue was brought without 
railroads and without vessels all the way from Assouan. Truly 
has it been said: "One does not know which to wonder at the 
more — the patience and strength of those who brought it the 
entire way from Assouan to serve as an ornament of the tem- 
ple, or the strength and patience of those who overthrew the 
monster and laid him low." I should have been glad to occupy 
two or three days in examining the Temple of Rameses III. 
It is large, but not overwhelming; constructed on a simple but 
beautiful plan ; in style fascinating, but not gloomy, and the 
pictures are easily understood. 

Our ride through the plains was of ceaseless interest. In the 
distance appeared the Nile, the temples of Luxor and Karnak, 
the Arabian and Libyan mountains; also the fellaheen at work 
in the fields, who there appeared to the best advantage, "with 
fine, oval faces; bright, deepset, black eyes; straight, thick 
noses ; large, well-formed mouths, full lips, beautiful teeth, 
broad shoulders, and good-shaped limbs." The farther south 
we went the more beautiful their complexion became. In the 
north of Egypt, that is in the vicinity of Alexandria, it was 
light and tawny; here it became a deep bronze. 



2SS Travels in Three Continents. 

I confess that in this ride only occasionally were my 
thoughts upon the present population of Egypt. The count- 
less multitudes that marched over those plains; the army of 
workmen employed in erecting those temples; the tremendous 
battles in which Greek, Roman, and savages from the south, 
and Cambyses and his horde from Persia, successively strug- 
gled; the appalling earthquakes which completed the devasta- 
tion begun by man; the ever-wonderful river, father of every 
green thing visible; the vast encroaching desert, and the ab- 
solutely cloudless sky, white and dazzling, with only the faint- 
est tint of blue — these filled the eye and mind, and this was 
no time to study living men. 

We explored an old cemetery, behind which is a small 
temple erected to Ptolemy Philopater. The early Christians 
inhabited it, and various inscriptions left by them, chiefly 
Coptic, are found in the interior. Architects have been much 
interested in the exposure, by the rents in the walls, of the 
wooden dove-tailed cramps connecting the blocks of masonry. 
Those Egyptians understood the durability of different sub- 
stances, and knew that wood, where no rain falls, if the stones 
are closely fitted together, would last for ages, and here are 
cramps, made of sycamore wood, as sound as when first put in 
more than two thousand years ago. The Egyptians built most 
of their temples of sandstone, which in a dry climate will en- 
dure the action of the atmosphere longer than limestone or 
granite; but underground they used limestone, because it bet- 
ter endures contact with the salts in the earth. 

The path to the tombs was for a considerable distance 
through a barren, desolate valley, utterly blasted by the heat 
of the sun. In any other part of the world I should have 
been certain that great floods had taken place. But when I 
remembered the fact that the movements of sand can polish 
stones as effectively as rain water must account for it, I found 
on inquiry that storms of rain do occur at that elevation, and 
torrents of water have, though at long intervals, poured 
through that narrow valley. 

The tombs are called Babel Moolook, or the Gates of the 
Kings. They are long passages, enlarging into halls and 
chambers, and penetrating into the heart of the mountain. 




Carvings on the Rameseum, 



Temples and Tombs of Thebes. 291 

The custom was, as soon as the mummy was deposited, to 
build up the entrance and level the surrounding rocks to hide 
all traces of the tomb. In the eastern valley there are about 
twenty-five tombs open for exploration — not all of kings. We 
visited five or six. 

The first is the tomb of Sethi I, now known as Belzoni's tomb, 
because discovered by him. We descended by a staircase to 
the depth of twenty-four feet, went through a passage twenty 
feet long by nine wide, and down another staircase twenty-five 
feet. Thence through two doors by a passage twenty-nine feet 
we reached a chamber twelve feet by fourteen. At this point 
was a pit whose inner wall was composed of blocks of hewn 
stone; it was originally calculated to make the impression that 
the end of the tomb had been reached, but it served another pur- 
pose, that of protecting the lower part of the tomb from rain 
water. Belzoni filled this pit up; for the hollow sounds of the 
walls of masonry and the apertures aroused his suspicions. The 
butt of a tree was used as a ram, and as soon as the breach was 
effected a hall twenty-six feet square, its roof and walls dec- 
orated with highly finished sculptures, whose colors were as 
distinct and vivid as though they had not been completed more 
than a week or two, was discovered. Beyond are various cham- 
bers filled with sculptures, to some extent mutilated by visitors, 
but most of them well preserved. Long serpents are repre- 
sented as gliding hither and thither through the rooms, or 
erect against the doorways. 

The accepted interpretation of these things is that they are 
allegorical; the serpents standing at the portals, darting out 
venom, are guardians of the gates of heaven; and underneath 
these strange representations is the idea that, after the trials 
of life, the soul, purified, becomes part of the divine essence; 
the tomb is the emblem of the voyage of the soul to its eternal 
abode, where the pure spirits wander over the regions where 
stars forever shine. They relate chiefly to Sethi, who was the 
father of Rameses II, and the occupant of the tomb. Inscrip- 
tions, some mysterious and inexplicable, are upon the walls. 
When the visitor reaches the end of the tomb he is four hun- 
dred and seventy feet from the entrance horizontally and one 
hundred and eighty feet below perpendicularly. 
10 



292 Travels in Three Continents. 

The tomb of Rameses III has two modern names. The best 
known is Bruce's, named for the traveler who discovered it; 
the other, the Harper tomb, because of a celebrated picture in 
one of the chambers of the main building. 

The process of cooking and kitchen work is portrayed in one 
of the chambers; men cutting up joints of meat, putting them 
in the caldron over a wood fire, pounding in a mortar, minc- 
ing meat; men kneading with their feet, or kneading bread 
with the hand. In all there are six chambers, some illustrat- 
ing farming, others Egyptian furniture. These alone would 
be sufficient to demonstrate that the people were highly ad- 
vanced in civilization. The picture of the harpists is one of 
the best known in all Egypt, for many copies have been made. 
The instruments are well formed; one, if not both, of the 
minstrels is represented as blind. 

Emerging from the tombs the tourists divided into parties 
—those who returned by the valley, and those who crossed the 
mountain chain. 



Ascent of the Libyan Mountains. 293 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 
Ascent of the Libyan Mountains. 

Barrenness of the Mountains — View from Summit — The Descent — Colossi — 
"Vocal Statue of Memnon." 

The sky was cloudless, the atmosphere devoid of moisture, 
the effect from the heights unique. The sky seemed blue, 
but as one looked at it the background appeared a brilliant 
black, from which infinitesimal rays of blinding white light in- 
cessantly darted, making it as dazzling as the intensest electric 
light, without contrast of shadow. The mountains were utterly 
barren, like the Alps above the line of vegetation, yet more 
sterile, for I have never found in Switzerland (except when 
within a few hours of the summit of Mont Blanc) a spot 
where, if soil could be reached, some slight indications of 
vegetation could not be discovered. Here heat, sand, rock, 
and absence of moisture made impossible even incipient vege- 
table life. Could one imagine a hundred thousand buildings 
of stone, broken into pieces of different proportions, and a 
million cart loads of sand and oblong pebbles deposited at 
random, the winds of a thousand years blowing them to and 
fro, gravitation meanwhile constantly producing a conical 
form, and the desert restoring what was lost through the action 
of the wind, and water at rare intervals pouring through the 
ravines and down the mountain sides, he could form some idea 
of the scene. 

The height of the loftiest may not have been more than a 
thousand feet, but the effect was that of four times the alti- 
tude, for they rise abruptly from the plain, as Gibraltar from 
the sea. The most beautiful view in Egypt was before us. 
When we stood upon the highest peak, westward was the great 
Libyan desert extending to Sahara. It was appalling to con- 
sider that a bewildered traveler might wander there for months 
and never see a human face. One afloat in the sea might be 
carried to the shore by friendly tides and waves, but there are 



294 Travels in Three Continents. 

no currents in the desert. The prairies of the West and the 
the steppes of Russia, when the winds blow and the tall grass 
waves, resemble the billows of the ocean; but wind upon the 
desert renders all things invisible. 

Before us lay the plain of Thebes, over which we had passed; 
at a distance of a few miles, the Nile, whose immediate back- 
ground was the verdant landscape; beyond, the columns of 
the Temple of Luxor, and the ruins of Karnak. With the 
eye resting on the temple, the remote plain was like a prodig- 
iously magnified picture of the full moon; the sand having a 
silvered gold effect, and the villages and ruin, reduced to an 
apparent level with the plain, resembling the darker surfaces 
of the " Queen of Night." 

Distant twenty miles the Arabian mountains stand perpen- 
dicular against the sky. I tried to organize a party to ex- 
plore them, but without success; a proposed moonlight ex- 
cursion to Karnak, which would have been jeoparded by the 
time such a trip would have required, proving an insuperable 
obstacle. 

On descending our sufferings from the heat were intense. 
My traveling companion alarmed me by his appearance, as 
well as by unaccountable weakness and pain in the head. 
The few ladies who had chosen to make the ascent regretted 
it. Our donkeys and guides, accustomed to the climate, did 
not suffer; even the little water girls, carrying large porous 
jars, ran up and down the mountain sides as cheerfully as 
though playing in a garden. 

On reaching the plain we rode directly to the Colossi, which 
had been in sight all the morning, and which to some were 
more interesting than any of the temples or tombs already 
visited. They are statues fifty feet in height, standing upon 
pedestals ten or twelve feet, and the Nile has deposited soil 
to a height of more than seven feet around them, and 
during the inundation they are surrounded by water. When 
erected they consisted of a single stone, and both repre- 
sented Amenophis III. The temple, before which they stood 
in the attitude of guardians, has disappeared. It was built 
of limestone, and was torn down and burned in the neigh- 
boring limekiln. These Colossi are of breccia, a "kind of 



Ascent of the Libyan Mountains. 297 

pudding stone mixed with agate-like pebbles," and having no 
value as lime, have been spared. 

One of these monoliths met with an accident which made it 
more famous than otherwise it could have been. The more 
northerly and renowned is the Colossus of Memnon, or "vocal 
statue of Memnon." The tradition is that a sound issued 
from it at the rising of the sun. It was simply known as the 
statue of Amenophis until an earthquake, supposed to have 
occurred in the year B. C. 27. At that time were broken off 
the head, upper part of the arms, and body. Some say that 
this was not done by an earthquake, but by the fury of Cam- 
byses, the Persian, and others attributed it to Ptolemy Lathy- 
rus. Pliny and Juvenal and other classic writers refer to this 
statue. 

There is no record of the sound having been heard when it 
was entire, but there are many witnesses to its occurrence sub- 
sequently. They represent that it appeared to come from the 
trunk, and was a sonorous ringing tone, resembling a human 
voice, and heard only when the first rays of the morning sun 
fell upon the statue. Strangers visited it from all parts of the 
world, and when they heard the note made an inscription to 
that effect upon the huge legs of the statue. Strabo said that 
he "heard it, but could not affirm whether it proceeded from 
the pedestal or the statue itself, or even from some of those 
who stood near its base." 

Many of the inscriptions are dated, going back to the time 
of Nero. 

Various opinions are held of this phenomenon; one, that it 
was the action of the heat of the sun upon the cracks in the 
stone wet with dew, which is certainly heavier there than 
would be supposed from the apparent absence of moisture in 
the air. The action of the sun upon stones is often sufficient 
to produce a loud noise even in much cooler climates than that 
of Egypt. Another view is that it was a trick of the priests, 
one of whom is supposed to have hid himself in the statue and 
struck a metallic sounding stone. In favor of this is the fact 
that there is such a stone still in existence in the lap of the 
statue, with a recess cut immediately behind it, and large 
enough to conceal an operator. 



298 Travels in Three Continents. 

A suspicious fact is that important personages, such as the 
Emperor Hadrian, " heard it two or three times, while ordinary 
people only heard it once, and sometimes had to go several 
times to do that." 

An Egyptian loitering near made a sign that he would ascend 
the statue and strike it; accordingly I hired him. The sound 
was simply that of the blow. But the trifle paid made him happy, 
and the circumstance gave a little more vividness to the fact 
that nineteen hundred years ago travelers from all parts of the 
known world stood in that very spot listening for the sound 
with which, "when the brilliant sun shoots forth his rays, he 
announces the return of day to the mortals here assembled." 



Life in Modern Thebes. 299 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
Life in Modern Thebes. 

Entertainment by the Consul at Thebes— An Oriental Dinner at the House 
of the British Consul — Wonderful Boy Gymnast — A Huge Monkey — Kar- 
nak by Moonlight — Varieties of Stone in Egypt. 

The United States consul, deputy of the consul general 
at Cairo, is an Egyptian; he called upon us and cordially in- 
vited the Americans on board to an entertainment at his resi- 
dence. There is an ancient proverb to the effect that one 
should not "look a gift horse in the mouth;" but as he did 
not hesitate to communicate to us, in a variety of oriental 
modes, that it would be well to make up a purse to pay 
the expenses of the entertainment, I am not restrained from 
observing that it was of a peculiar character. Egyptian women 
were brought in to dance to the accompaniment of music, 
which reminded me of a lecture on sound delivered by an ec- 
centric vagrant professor of oratory and music, who said that 
all sounds are divided into two grand divisions, "music and 
noise." By this simple classification I have no difficulty 
in locating, rhetorically, the place of these Egyptian melo- 
dies. The women were vulgar in deportment, but wore long 
dresses trailing upon the floor. Their performances were acro- 
batic and gymnastic rather than terpsichorean. One per- 
formed with a lighted candle in a candlestick on her head, and 
it was an extraordinary feat, as she frequently placed her head 
at right angles with her swiftly moving body, the candle re- 
maining in its place. 

Coffee and other beverages were passed, and in the inter- 
vals of the performance of these women they ate, drank, and 
smoked. We were requested to guess their ages. Knowing 
that Egyptian women look older than they are, I ventured to 
guess the eldest to be thirty-five, the next twenty-five, and the 
other two twenty and seventeen. But the eldest, though she 
had been married for some years, was only twenty-two, 



300 Travels in Three Continents. 

and the youngest eleven. The entertainment was not 
i such as I could recommend, or would have attended had I 
been aware of its character. For those who wished to see 
what they should not it was not bad enough; for those who sim- 
ply desired to have a pleasant and varied evening's enjoy- 
ment there was nothing pleasant and nothing varied, and 
the ladies and gentlemen of the party unanimously voted the 
entertainment tedious. There is little business in Luxor for 
an American consul, and these men make their living chiefly by 
selling antiquities. 

The British consul is a more important character, and, on 
the evening of February 21, a party from our steamer, includ- 
ing several gentlemen from England and Scotland, dined in 
oriental fashion at his house. On arriving they were shown 
into a room containing a collection of Egyptian antiquities, 
and several albums of autographs of those who, during the 
last thirty or forty years, had called at the consulate. Among 
the American signatures was one that elicited interest — Ralph 
AV r aldo Emerson. Before dinner was announced a servant en- 
tered with water, and another distributed napkins. After all 
had washed their hands they proceeded to the dining room. 
The room was plain, but the repast might have served for a 
king. Fourteen chairs were placed around a small table three 
feet or so in width, which was covered by a circular brass tray, 
a little larger than the table itself. All having been seated, and 
a tureen of soup placed in the center, the host put his spoon 
into the dish, inviting the guests to follow. Bread had been 
provided. After all had partaken, the soup was removed and 
chicken brought. The host, having torn it into small pieces 
with his fingers, handed a tidbit to one of the ladies pres- 
ent, and then invited the others to partake. Each took a 
piece in his hand, and the chickens were quickly disposed of. 
After them was served a course of two kinds of vegetables; 
then dishes of mutton, in color as black as charcoal, but in 
flavor excellent; stewed tomatoes were next proffered, in 
which the host dipped his bread, followed by the guests. After 
the tomatoes came the turkey, in the breaking up of which the 
host was assisted by a native gentleman. Two dishes of 
spinach were served, then a haricot of mutton, which was fol- 



Life in Modern Thebes. 301 

lowed by rice, over which the gravy of the mutton had been 
poured. The dessert was a species of tart, browned on the sur- 
face, the contents composed largely of cream deliciously flav- 
ored and sweetened. Last of all came a bowl of rice, cooked 
with sour milk; the whole, however, had been so flavored that 
not a trace of acidity remained, and the dish, like that which 
had preceded it, was unanimously declared to be delicious. 

The meal ended, the host said, " All-ham-du-le-lah," the 
meaning of which is, "Thank God." Then the servants, of 
whom there were three in waiting, drew near with soap and 
water, that all might wash their hands. Coffee was then served, 
and the guests repaired to the waiting room. After a nephew 
of the host had expressed thanks, on behalf of his uncle, to 
the guests who had honored him with their presence, a Negro, 
Abdallah by name, belonging to a tribe in the South, was 
brought forward. He exhibited the mode of singing, dancing, 
and fighting prevailing in his own tribe. On leaving, the 
servants who had waited on the table, each carrying a lantern, 
accompanied the guests to the steamer. 

At Luxor a wonderful boy, Egyptian and Mohammedan, ap- 
peared as a gymnast. He could not have been more than 
twelve years of age, and was quite small, but of symmetrical 
figure, his head being especially well proportioned. The little 
fellow lived there and was engaged in ordinary work, but when 
steamers lay alongside he came down to the water's edge and 
performed for the diversion of tourists. The gyrations which 
he made were always the same, and consisted of raising and 
lowering his arms very rapidly, accompanied by a peculiar 
chanting and a startling crackling of his joints, producing 
sounds like those made when a pair of castanets are struck. 
His chief charm was in the brightness of his eye, the whiteness 
of his teeth, the naturalness and gleefulness of his smile, his 
expressive gestures, and his way of saying, " Thank you, sir; " 
or "Thank you, mad-ame;" or " I am glad to see you, sir." 
He soon discovered what language the traveler spoke, and 
though he knew not another word except these salutations and 
thanksgivings, could utter them pleasingly in a halfscore of 
European languages. 

Another curiosity was a huge monkey just brought from 



302 Travels in Three Continents. 

South Africa. Its height, when erect, was equal to that of a 
short man, and its superficial resemblance to the human race 
appalling. The owner kept it chained, and sometimes all his 
strength was demanded to prevent its escape. Not long be- 
fore, a powerful man took the attitude of a boxer in front of 
this animal, which, standing erect, struck him with such 
rapidity on each side of the face as to confuse him, and then 
seizing him under the arms made frantic efforts to tear his 
face with its teeth. 

Karnak by moonlight is beautiful, ghostly, and almost 
ghastly. A young lad who sought solitude hastened back to 
the company, saying that it was no place in which to be alone. 

There is great variety of stone in Egypt — granite of differ- 
ent kinds, limestone, sandstone, porphyry, slate, siliceous red 
gritstone, pudding stone, alabaster, gypsum, and in the Ara- 
bian desert marbles of various sorts. The Pyramids were 
built of limestone blocks, the temples of Thebes and the The- 
baid generally of sandstone. But "obelisks, statues, and 
whole sanctuaries were hewn out of the granite rocks at 
Assouan (Syene)," and transported, by modes which can only 
be conjectured, to the sites where they now defy time or 
crumble before it. 



From Thebes to the First Cataract. 303 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 
From Thebes to the First Cataract. 

Temple of Edfoo — Kom-ombos — Island of Elephantine — Camel Riding — 
Assouan — Nubian Boatmen's Song — Ride to Philre — Ancient Methods of 
Quarrying Stone — Description of Philas — Temple of Isis — The First Cata- 
ract — Herodotus on the Sources of the Nile — Aquatic Feats at the Cataract 
— An Hour in the Desert — Experience of Foolhardy Tourists with Rob- 
bers — Nubians — A Solitary Palm. 

Ascending the Nile the view of the mountains on the left 
was of thrilling interest because of the experience of the pre- 
ceding days. The travelers generally, even the youngest of 
them, were silent and thoughtful; all the volumes in the ship's 
library were in requisition, and diaries and notebooks rapidly 
filled. I brought home nearly one hundred excellent photo- 
graphs of Thebes and vicinity; marvelous aids to recollection. 

At Edfoo we landed at the foot of a bank of sand and 
visited the temple. Mariette quarried this as one of his first 
works, after his appointment as conservator of the monuments 
of Egypt and director of the excavations. I read his descrip- 
tion, which is that "it is a monument that speaks for itself; 
that no description can do justice to it; that its magnificent 
porticoes and halls are unique in Egypt, and that its excava- 
tions were the most expensive archaeological work ever exe- 
cuted under the auspices of the Khedive." 

The heat was intense as we sailed away from Edfoo. There 
we saw Nubians and Soudanese, and began to realize how far 
south we were. Long and narrow strips of cultivated land 
separated us from the encroaching desert, and here and there 
it reached the water's edge. The bottom of the river could 
be seen distinctly, and in many places the water was not more 
than two feet and six inches in depth. 

Kom-ombos was the next point at which we disembarked. 
The ruins of two temples with various sculptures and some al- 
most illegible paintings, the whole gradually being under- 



304 Travels in Three Continents. 

mined by the Nile and destined to be swept away within a 
few years, are all that remain. 

As the steamer drew near to Assouan, sand banks appeared 
in the mouth of the eastern channel, making an agreeable con- 
trast with the water and the green fields along the shore. 
Then appeared islands of solid black rock, which had been so 
polished by the water as to resemble black marble. The 
island of Elephantine is well described as "a mosaic of 
livid green, golden sand, and black syenite." In all direc- 
tions on the shore mountains of sand and heaps of stone are 
thrown about promiscuously, the scene suggesting the pri- 
meval evolutions when the earth's surface was in process of 
formation. 

The vessel anchored some distance below the town, but on 
the shore was a crowd of traders, and camels ready for hire, 
black, white, mouse color, and reddish. As it is necessary to 
ride five or six miles to the First Cataract, it is the fashion to 
do so upon the back of a camel. I had had my fill of that 
sort of desert navigation. If one had a journey of a month he 
could allow the first three days for breaking in, and look for- 
ward to enjoyment; but when the tour is less than one day it 
is pleasanter not to make it on the back of a camel. First you 
cross your legs, and as you do that "up goes the beast; you 
are jerked forward and get a dig in the stomach from the 
front crotch, then you are jerked backward and get a dig in 
the back from the hind crotch." So it continues. There are 
differences among camels as among horses, and a South 
American gentleman in the party declared that he preferred a 
camel to any horse or donkey that he had seen in Egypt; but 
most of us took donkeys. 

Assouan is spoken of in the Bible under the name of Syene, 
and was the extreme southern boundary of Egypt. 

It has a population of less than ten thousand, and is about 
seven hundred and thirty miles from the Mediterranean Sea. 
In contrast with many other towns in Egypt, it presents an 
attractive appearance; the stores had an excellent supply of 
goods, and one might fancy himself in a seaport town in Eng- 
land; but before he could settle upon this conclusion the pecu- 
liar character of the population would reveal to him the fact that 



From Thebes to the First Cataract. 305 

he was far from European civilization. As he passes through 
the bazaars and wanders about the suburbs he sees a motley 
crowd "of Egyptians, Turks, Barabras, half-naked Bisharees, 
and Negroes of every tribe." Some are magnificent looking 
men; these are said to come from Khartoom, easily distin- 
guished by their grand appearance, perfectly black skin, and 
splendidly shaped heads. 

A few years ago the merchandise consisted principally of 
gums, elephants' tusks, skins, and other southern products. 
There has been a change, and for what was formerly common 
we were compelled to search; but in every case found some of 
these strictly oriental products. Our attention was attracted 
by a hawker who was selling ebony bludgeons, lances, and 
arrows, the points of which he claimed were poisoned. 

In pagan times there must have been a vastly larger popu- 
lation than now. There are ruins, too, of Christian convents, 
dating back to the sixth or seventh century, and evidences 
that it was the seat of a bishopric. Five years ago, it being 
the principal market for traders to and from the Soudan, mer- 
chandise to the amount of ten million dollars per annum 
passed through the place. The Soudan has since been aban- 
doned, and in a constant state of warfare; traveling has been 
unsafe, and the appearance of the town indicated general 
stagnation. Troops for the Nile expedition rendezvoused 
here, and there was a large English garrison when we were in 
Assouan, the troops being Egyptian, the officers Englishmen. 
The troublous times which have since occurred were threaten- 
ing, and troops from Cairo arriving. The place is surrounded 
by forts. Though there are ruins of the times of the Ptolemys, 
mOst of the remains are houses erected by the Saracens. 

On the island of Elephantine the larger part of the popu- 
lation consists of Nubians. They are fine-looking men, tall, 
symmetrical, elegant, intelligent. When rowing to the island 
we found the boatmen were of this race. As they rowed they 
sang in Nubian dialect. One would sing, and the others join 
in the chorus. The melody was monotonous, but not unpleas- 
ant; the chorus brief, and as nearly as I can express it in 
English, in these syllables: "Ah hoom-rhe-7iab." I tried it 
upon several Nubians whom we met afterward, and found 



306 Travels in Three Continents. 

not one who appeared to understand it; but every Englishman 
present, when the song was sung, declared this to be the 
chorus. 

Travelers formerly described the Nubian women on this 
island as "sable Venuses, realizing the description of our 
mother Eve as being when unadorned adorned the most, their 
sole costume being in this serene and glowing climate an 
apron around the middle, and somewhat of the slenderest, 
too, composed of thongs of leather ornamented with small 
shells." We saw none such, though not a few were slenderly 
dressed. Doubtless the presence of foreigners and the atten- 
tion attracted has tended to an assimilation to Egyptian cos- 
tumes and to cause those not supplied with such to keep out 
of sight. 

The ride to Philae, at the First Cataract, was the most 
" fascinating and impish " of the entire journey. En route we 
passed several Mohammedan tombs and the graves of British 
soldiers who had died in the Soudan. 

Many of the rocks plainly show that they have been quarried. 
Marks of wedges are perceptible, and inscriptions on the island 
of Elephantine and at Philae tell when the blocks were removed, 
and give the dynasty and the name of the king by whose 
orders they were hewn and removed. Ingenious methods of 
quarrying the stone were adopted, whose operations can be 
plainly traced. Holes were cut to receive wooden wedges, 
and these were saturated with water, and broke off the stone 
by equal pressure. An obelisk, carved but not detached from 
the rock, remains in the quarry. If completed it would have 
been ninety-five feet in height and eleven feet one and one 
half inches in breadth. Other kinds of stone besides syenite 
abound. Granite prevails, there being more of that than 
of all other kinds of stone. 

It is sometimes difficult to determine the difference between 
syenite and granite. The general proposition of the geologists is 
that syenite is composed of feldspar, quartz, and horn- 
blende, and granite of feldspar, quartz, and mica. The 
syenite of antiquity, used for statues, was really granite. 
Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park is a specimen of red gran- 
ite, and came from these quarries. 



From Thebes to the First Cataract. 309 

The island of Phils is the finest bit of scenery on the Nile. 
It is only a quarter of a mile long, and considerably less than 
an eighth of a mile wide, and is approached by a romantic 
route. The river contains many islands of black rock, and in 
various places is not more than fifty or sixty feet wide, sud- 
denly expanding into lakes. Continual surprises greet the eye. 
The island is covered with ruins, the oldest dating back to 
about 360 B. C. The chief building is the Temple of Isis, 
commenced by Ptolemy Philadelphus, continued by famous 
monarchs, including the two Cleopatras. Later Augustus, 
Tiberius, Claudius, Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan added 
sculptures in their own honor. 

We spent six hours in this temple and vicinity. The build- 
ing and the summit afford the best view, both of art and nature, 
to be obtained in Egypt outside of Thebes. The west cor- 
ridor has thirty-two columns with capitals and different forms. 
The decorations of the roof consist of gold stars on a blue 
ground. The towers of the first great entrance are one hun- 
dred and twenty feet wide, and sixty feet high, covered with 
sculptures of gods and kings. One room is supposed to have 
been the library. On the east side is a copy of the inscription 
contained in the famous Rosetta Stone, but one of our experts 
pointed out the fact that only the Demotic and hieroglyphic 
texts are given. 

This temple is said to have been transformed in the sixth 
century into the Christian Church of St. Stephen, and certain 
crosses are considered conclusive evidence on that point. In- 
scriptions prove that in the four hundred and fifty-third year 
of the Christian era, more than seventy years after Theodosius 
abolished the Christian religion by proclamation, the worship 
of Isis and Osiris was still carried on in this temple. The 
Christians, when they took it, covered with a coating of clay 
or mortar the pagan inscriptions of its builders. 

The First Cataract must have been in ancient times very 
different from what it now is, merely a succession of rapids, 
whirlpools, and eddies, caused by rocks and small islands. I 
have seen many far larger and more striking, notably the 
Lachine Rapids in the St. Lawrence. When the water is high 
it is easy for boats to sail against it; when low, barely pos- 



3i° Travels in Three Continents. 

sible. Cicero, Seneca, and others gave accounts of the aston- 
ishing noise made by the cataract. But this was probably an 
exaggeration, for Paul Lucas, a traveler of the time of Louis 
XIV, says that the cataract precipitated itself with such force 
from the top of the rocks that the inhabitants of the district 
were deaf for several miles around! This would make it more 
terribly " the voice of many waters" than Niagara itself. 

The Nile was unquestionably twenty-five or thirty feet 
higher than it is now, but even then the whole body of water 
pouring over could have produced no such commotion. Mari- 
ette denies that there is any cataract there, if by that is to be 
understood a fall of water caused by a lowering of the whole 
bed of the stream, as is the case with the Rhine at Schaff- 
hausen. When the Nile is low the rocks with which its bed 
are obstructed project above the water, and small falls are 
thus produced which sometimes swell into cascades. We saw 
it at its best, the river being unusually low. 

Herodotus, in his second book, says: "With respect to the 
sources of the Nile, no man of all the Egyptians, Albians, or 
Grecians with whom I have conversed ever pretended to know 
anything, except the registrar of Minerva's treasury at Sais 
in Egypt. He, indeed, seemed to be trifling with me when he 
said he knew perfectly well; yet his account was as follows: 
' That there are two mountains rising into a sharp peak, situ- 
ated between the city of Syene in Thebais and Elephantine; 
the names of these mountains are, the one Crophi, the other 
Mophi; that the sources of the Nile, which are bottomless, 
flow from between these mountains; and that half of the water 
flows through Egypt and to the north, the other half through 
Ethiopia to the south. That the fountains of the Nile are 
bottomless,' he said,' Psammitichus, King of Egypt, proved by 
experiment; for having caused a line to be twisted many 
thousand fathoms in length he let it down, but could never 
find a bottom.' Such, then, was the opinion the registrar 
gave, if indeed he spoke the truth, proving, in my opinion, 
that there are strong whirlpools and an eddy here, so that, 
the water beating against the rocks, a sounding line when let 
down could not reach the bottom. I was unable to learn any- 
thing more from anyone else, but this much I learned by 



From Thebes to the First Cataract. 311 

carrying my researches as far as possible, having gone and 
made my own observations as far as Elephantine, and beyond 
that obtaining information from hearsay." 

Stanley has completed the sources of the Nile; its mystery 
has been yielded. 

On arriving at the cataract we found hundreds of men and 
boys — Nubians, Negroes, and a few Egyptians ready to per- 
form extraordinary feats. Stark naked, they mount round 
logs of wood, launch into the stream, and paddle either across 
the river or shoot the rapids; dive from points thirty and 
even fifty feet high into the river, and rising would be borne 
down at the rate of more than twenty miles an hour for 
a short distance, but being perfectly familiar with the eddies 
they soon get to the shore, and run up to travelers ready to 
do the same thing as many times as one might care to pay the 
small sum charged. 

Shooting the cataract is dangerous. Some of our young 
men tried to hire a party of men to take them down, but failed. 
Two or three young Englishmen had recently lost their lives 
attempting the feat alone. 

Before turning our faces to the north I wandered into the 
desert and spent an hour alone where it was impossible to see 
evidence of the presence of man, except the telegraph poles 
in the direction of Khartoom. They seemed like civilization 
on stilts stalking across the boundless expanse of sand. There 
was no wind; a quietness as of death was in the air; a silence 
which Thomas Hood interprets: 

" There is a silence where hath been no sound, 
There is a silence where no sound may be, 
In the cold grave, under the deep, deep sea, 
Or in wide desert where no life is found." 

Our conductor told us of a singular adventure. Among a 
company of tourists were a gentleman and a lady who refused 
to keep with the party. He warned them of danger, but they 
insisted that they were quite able to take care of themselves. 
About two hours later they returned, stating that they had 
been robbed. It appeared that a crowd had surrounded them, 
and utterly helpless, they were stripped of part of their 
clothing, and their watches, money, and jewelry taken away. 
17 



312 Travels in Three Continents. 

They confessed that they had no means of identifying the 
thieves. After rebuking them for their foolhardiness, the 
conductor told them that perhaps he could get their property. 
When the time came to return to the vessel, as usual, a crowd 
followed the foreigners down to the water's edge. After all 
the small boats but one had gone out to the vessel, the con- 
ductor and several others remaining to take passage in that, 
the oarsmen were told to row very rapidly when the signal 
was given ; the conductor then seized a child from the arms of 
its mother and the boat pushed off into the stream. The re- 
sulting consternation and excitement were tremendous; the 
cries of the mother, the wailing of the women who sympa- 
thized with her, and the imprecations of the men filled the air. 
Standing on the prow of the boat, at a safe distance, the con- 
ductor cried out: ''If you want the child bring back the 
money and watches you stole from my friends."- They called 
upon God and the Prophet to witness that they knew not who 
did it; but he insisted that unless it were done the child would 
be taken away. After waiting a while they called out that 
they had the money, and that if the child were brought back 
it would be delivered up. The conductor refused, and after 
much altercation one of the men swam out with the money and 
jewelry, receiving the child, which he took to its mother. 

The Nubians are lighter than the Negroes in color, and 
darker than the Arabs. Their general appearance indicates 
poverty, but not suffering. Fuel they do not want, as it is 
never cold; nor do they need clothes. They are rather fine- 
looking, and wear no head covering, but saturate their shaggy 
hair with grease. Date palms are their main reliance, many 
never having anything else to eat. The shadoof gives place 
to water wheels moved by oxen, each wheel being competent 
to irrigate a particular amount of land; when one inquires 
about the wealth of a Nubian, the reply is not given in acres, 
but in the number of water-wheels owned by him. 

Like all half-civilized races, the Nubians are superstitious, 
making great use of charms which they are willing to sell. I 
bought one from a stalwart peasant who took it from 
his neck. Of what it consists internally I have not ascer- 
tained; externally it resembles three dominoes, made of red 



From Thebes to the First Cataract. ^^S 

Leather. The spots signify something to the untutored Nu- 
bian, but so also did the money for which he sold it. This 
Nubian charm hangs in my library, as harmless as the chicken 



s. 







Nubians. 



bone with which a Tartar told me that I could divine the 
future. 

In the neighborhood of Assouan I saw a lonely palm of such 



314 Travels in Three Continents. 

singular beauty and stateliness as to make it a conspicuous ob- 
ject. It seemed to spring from the barren sand, but at no 
great distance was a fountain. Beholding it I thought of 
Heine's contrast, which has been spoken of as the "Flawless 

Lyric: " 

" A pine tree standeth lonely 
On a far north land height ; 
It slumbereth, while around it 
The snows fall thick and white. 

"And of a palm it dreameth, 
That in a southern land, 
Lonely and silent, standeth 
Amid the scorching sand." 

Far north of the arctic circle I had seen the solitary pine 
upon the desolate coast of Norway; now 1 beheld the palm 
upon the burning sands of Africa. 

The disturbed condition of the country made it undesirable, 
if not impracticable, to go to the Second Cataract. 



Down the River. 



CHAPTER XL. 
Down the River. 

Southern Cross — To Luxoi — Meeting David Dudley Field — Aground Fifteen 
Times — An Alarming Illness — Arrival at Cairo — Kaiserswerth Hospital — 
Boolak Museum. 

On Monday morning, February 25, between two and 
three o'clock, 1 beheld the Southern Cross. Not only this, I 
could see the two stars of the first magnitude in the Centaur. 
The Southern Cross requires the aid of a brilliant star in an 
adjacent constellation to form the foot; this included, the re- 
sult is a noble figure of a cross. The universe seemed to 
stretch away into immensity; "faith lent its realizing light," 
and the finest conception that I ever attained of the size 
of the earth and the heavens above, was while gazing to the far 
south and beholding that constellation whose circle, like that 
of the midnight sun when I saw it, was but a few degrees 
above the horizon. It ascended and descended slowly, being 
visible a little more than two hours. As we went south it had 
been interesting to watch each night new stars appearing just 
above the line which separated earth from sky. The fashion 
seems to be to underestimate the Southern Cross in compari- 
son with some of our northern splendors; but making no 
allowance for the low point at which we viewed the cross on 
this occasion, it seemed to me a spectacle worthy of com- 
parison with any other part of the "spangled heavens." I 
turned my back upon it to look for my old friends to the far 
north. 

Miss Edwards said: "Our old familiar friends of the north- 
ern hemisphere look strangely distorted. Orion seems to be 
lying on his back, and the Great Bear to be standing on his 
tail; while Cassiopeia and a number of others have deserted 
en masse." This is indeed one of the peculiar features of the 
change of position, taken in connection with the limited view 
of the horizon, for it foreshortens many figures, so that it is 



316 Travels in Three Continents. 

impossible to recognize them; I have no doubt that the 
Southern Cross seen higher in the heavens would be far 
more splendid. As for the north star, my beacon light in 
many nights of camping out, and pedestrian journeys in moun- 
tains and forests and on the prairies — it was so low in the 
distant north that it took fifteen minutes to find it. The 
stars, like some vowels, are long or short "by position." 

I omitted to speak of our visit to Esneh, the capital of the 
province of the same name, and having a population of 
upward of ten thousand. We made a considerable stay there. 
It is said to be the most healthful town in all Egypt, and we 
saw at the hotels and the landings invalids who had been 
sent there from Cairo and Alexandria. There is generally a 
"breeze from the north at night, which is always cool; and the 
heat in the day is uniform and not so high as at most other 
points on the river. 

The ancient temple is far below the level of the modern 
town. We descended the steps into the Hall of Columns, 
which Mohammed AH cleared in 1842; the rest of the temple 
is under the houses and invisible. There are many sculptures 
and inscriptions. All the finer parts are covered with black 
smoke. Some miles below Esneh we ran aground, and re- 
mained five or six hours in one place, giving us fine opportun- 
ity to see the shore, with the villages and splendid range of 
mountains. 

We made the trip down the river to Luxor in less than one 
third of the time it took to go up. Here we found the steamer 
.Ramescs going southward, and upon it our distinguished fel- 
low-citizen, David Dudley Eield, in his eighty-fifth year, look- 
ing as young as most men of sixty. During a long con- 
versation with him, he gave delightful reminiscences of 
former visits, the last preceding this being in 1S70, when, 
as he remarked playfully, he was a young fellow of sixty- 
five or so. At Luxor we remained a day and a half, and 
some of the tourists revisited Karnak. Most, however, 
Avere occupied with letters, papers, and necessary writing. 

On the voyage to Cairo we experienced much annoyance 
from the heat and frequent running aground. The average 
depth of the channel was less than three feet, the river being 



Down the River. 317 

lower than it had been at that time for a number of years. We 
were grounded for twenty-four hours in one place, and three 
other steamers and thirty vessels of different sorts, at distances 
of not more than fifty or a hundred feet apart, were stuck fast 
up and down the river. Several of our passengers had had ex- 
perience on the rivers and lakes of the United States, and 
were quite certain that the Nile pilots did not understand their 
business. Four or five times all the passengers who were able 
to be moved left the vessel and went on board a dahabeah. 
This became monotonous, especially as it did not lighten the 
vessel to any perceptible extent. One by one the vessels man- 
aged to float, and after constant struggling day and night we 
got under way. Fifteen times we were aground, but this was 
the worst of such experiences. Among the best results of go- 
ing to the East is that one learns to wait. 

In describing our descent from the Libyan mountains I spoke 
of the alarming aspect of my traveling companion, whom the 
heat strangely affected; and now I must unfold a tale of 
suffering which was one of the most painful episodes in travel- 
ing I have ever experienced. Six hours after that descent he 
became dangerously ill. The ship was provided with a 
physician, a young man just graduated; but he was so young 
and so devoted to social life as not to inspire confidence. For 
two or three days the sick man refused to have him called, 
but when he grew worse and delirium appeared, the physician 
was summoned, as much to find some one to take the respon- 
sibility and stand between us and the authorities of the boat as 
from expectation of valuable assistance. The wisdom of this 
step was soon vindicated, for it began to be rumored among 
the passengers that the young man had typhoid fever, 
some being not slow to intimate that the disease was 
contagious, such a suggestion containing the germs of 
a panic, and tending to the development of a sentiment 
which would have required the putting of the sick man on 
shore, which might have meant death to him and protracted 
misery to his friends. Only at one or two places could 
proper treatment for a European be found, and, with the heat 
increasing every day, the prospect of recovery without such 
care would have been slight. 



3 18 Travels in Three Continents. 

We were agreeably disappointed in the physician, for we 
found him attentive, possessed of considerable knowledge, 
and, as often happens, making a much better impression when 
under responsibility than when having nothing to do. He sus- 
pected the disease to be typhoid fever, but there being a doubt 
he gave us the benefit of it, and probably romanced a little 
in his conversation with the passengers. It is bad enough to 
be sick on an ocean steamer, but these staterooms, intended 
only for occupancy at night, were much smaller than those to 
be had on the best ocean steamers. To be confined in a small 
stateroom by day, with the temperature at nearly one hundred 
in the shade, was awful, but thirteen days and nights this had 
to be endured. Meanwhile four other passengers were taken 
ill. One had lumbago, and his groans, rising sometimes into 
shrieks, could be heard distinctly; the others had symptoms 
of typhoid fever. 

The passengers being very sympathetic, Principal Bancroft 
and myself had no difficulty in securing relays of assistants, 
ladies and gentlemen, who would sit near the patient while we 
were resting. When we reached Asyoot, I addressed a com- 
munication to Dr. J. Sandlands Grant Bey, the chief phy- 
sician in Cairo, notifying him of the probable time of our 
arrival, and requesting him to be in readiness to consult with 
the ship's physician, and procure hospital accommodation. 

We did not arrive in Cairo until late in the evening of Mon- 
day, March 4. Leaving the patient in the care of Dr. Ban- 
croft and the ship's physician, I mounted a donkey and rode 
rapidly to the Place Esbekeeyeh, and had the good fortune to 
find Dr. Grant in his office. The hospital arrangements hav- 
ing been made, we drove at once to the ship, and after a care- 
ful consultation the decision was reached that it was a case of 
typhoid fever, which as yet exhibited no unfavorable compli- 
cations. The removal was a pitiable spectacle. The thirteen 
days had made a fearful change in the appearance of Mr. Mc- 
Fadden. But twenty-four years of age, he looked fifty. 
Unable to stand, he was lifted by Arabs into the carriage, and 
taken to the hospital. As there was no permanent room at 
the hospital, Dr. Bancroft and I repaired to the hotel not far 
away and arranged for an indefinite stay in Cairo. 



Down the River. 319 

The hospital was the Victoria, under the charge of the 
deaconesses of Kaiserswerth, and it is one of the most delight- 
fid places to be sick or to be well in the world. I can 
never forget the atmosphere of cleanliness, the order and 
homelikeness of the place, or the courtesy, composure, and 
sisterly kindness of the deaconesses in charge. This hospital 
is one of the celebrated Kaiserswerth system supported by the 
English and German colonies in Cairo. The patients are ex- 
pected to pay in proportion to the accommodations received, 
but none are turned away who are unable to pay. The spirit 
of the institution is thoroughly religious. On arriving the next 
morning we found that our friend had passed a quiet night, and 
the special physicians who had him in charge reported that he 
would have to remain there several weeks, and that in the 
course of one week they could inform us of the probable ter- 
mination of the attack. He rapidly improved, and in a day 
or two we contented ourselves with a single morning visit to 
him, which was all that the physician thought desirable, and 
spent the rest of the day in examining certain important insti- 
tutions and features of Cairo and vicinity, that we had post- 
poned until after our return from the First Cataract. 

The Boolak Museum is without a rival in the world in the 
value of its Egyptian antiquities, though the British Museum 
surpasses it in the single point of historical papyri. 

I had learned at Pompeii that the time to visit a museum of 
this kind is after, not before, inspecting the cities whence the 
contents of the museum were. I had seen the monuments 
and the stupendous works of Rameses II; here I saw his 
mummy. I had beheld the tomb and monuments of Sethi I, 
who carried the glory of Egypt into Asia; here I looked upon 
his dead body. 

Reverently I took off my hat before the tomb and sepulchral 
monument of Mariette, which is in the court of the museum. 
In front of it are four Sphinxes, from the grand Avenue of 
Sphinxes to the Tomb of the Bulls, at Sakkara. Behind 
Mariette's tomb is a statue of Rameses II, and near it are 
other Sphinxes from Karnak, sacrificial tablets of Thothmes 
III, and various sepulchral slabs. There is also a sitting 
figure, in gray granite, of a princess of the Twelfth Dynasty. 



j2o Travels in Three Continents. 

In entering one passes through a small vestibule, contain- 
ing tombstones, columns, and capitals from different dynasties, 
and sarcophagi from the time of the Ptolemys, into the grand 
vestibule, filled with statues, tombstones, pictures, coffins of 
limestone and green basalt. Entering the museum proper we 
find it divided into different halls, in which are the original his- 
torical monuments of different epochs of the long history of 
Egypt. Egyptian mythology is far more complex than Gre- 
cian or Roman, and each succeeding dynasty modified it. I 
saw the coffin and mummy of Amenophis I, the head wearing 
a mask; also the coffin and mummy of Thothmes II, and a 
mummy of a priestly scribe in such an astonishing state of 
preservation that the eyelashes are visible. The teeth of 
another mummy are ground to a point. Caskets in wood 
dating back to fifteen hundred years before Christ are in an 
excellent condition. 

Apart from the mummies, the greatest curiosity in the 
museum is a wooden statue of an old Egyptian, found in a 
tomb at Sakkara, who belonged unquestionably to one of the 
earliest dynasties of the primeval monarchy. More has been 
written about this than about anything else here. It is sup- 
posed to have been a Sheik named Ra-Em-Ka. It appears 
to be entirely uninjured. Zincke says: "There is no stain of 
time upon it. To say that it is worth its weight in gold is 
saying nothing, for its value is not commensurable with gold. 
As you look at the statue intently — you cannot do otherwise— 
the soul returns to it, the man is reflected from the wood as 
he would have been from a mirror." 

There is a description in the third chapter of Isaiah of the 
dress of the Hebrew women eight hundred years before 
Christ: "Tinkling ornaments about their feet," "networks," 
"round tires like the moon," "chains," "bracelets," "span- 
gled ornaments," "bonnets," "ornaments of the legs," 
"headbands," "tablets, and the earrings," "rings and nose 
jewels," "changeable suits of apparel," "mantles," "wimples 
and the crisping pins," "glasses," "fine linen," "the hoods, 
and the veils." 

Many of these were imitations of Egyptian costumes and 
decorations, and in the Boolak Museum are the originals. I 



Down the River. 321 

saw a bracelet for the upper arm adorned with turquoises, and 
a fan of gilded wood, with the holes where ostrich feathers 
had been inserted. One queer article was a gold chain with 
three flies in gold foil. Anklets of massive gold, correspond- 
ing to the ornaments for the legs mentioned by Isaiah, and a 
great number of rings and bracelets. A bracelet was formed 
of pearls strung upon gold wire. 

In one of the cabinets is a necklace of gold, the links of 
which are in the form of cords of rope, cruciform flowers, an- 
telopes chased by lions, jackals, vultures, and winged ser- 
pents. 

The jewelry actually worn by Queen Ahhotpou one thou- 
sand years before Christ, and found in her coffin, is preserved. 
One of her bracelets had two hinges, and consists of gold 
figures engraved upon blue glass. A gold diadem was found 
in her hair, and is also here. A child's ball, whose owner has 
been dead half the historic period; hairpins, mostly made of 
wood; a chessboard, nearly four thousand years old; and ink 
pots, for red and black ink, are among the relics. 

The museum contains a collection of bronzes, inlaid with 
gold and enamel; and many large statues, some supposed to 
be the oldest in the world, are in perfect preservation. The 
god Osiris, in the form of a mummy, is made of bronze, inlaid 
with gold. There is a golden boat which rests upon a wooden 
frame. It has four bronze wheels, and effigies of twelve row- 
ers, a helmsman, and an officer holding a baton. 

I paused before the remains of a statue of Taharka. He 
was that Ethiopian king who figures in the ancient prophets 
{2 Kings xix, 9; Isa. xxxvii, 9), and belonged to the Twenty- 
fifth Dynasty, which conquered Egypt and made Thebes their 
capital. In the Bible his name is spelled Tirhakah. 

While in this museum I was enabled to make rapid progress 
in acquiring a knowledge of the symbolic mythology of the 
ancient Egyptians. It was impossible not to discern its mean- 
ing in the luminous arrangement; everything was classified, 
and derived its allegorical significance from the fundamental 
doctrine that matter is eternal and can neither be decreased 
nor increased, but is intelligent and has creative power. For 
the common people the source of life was described in a per- 



322 Travels in Three Continents. 

sonal form called Nun; the principle of light, Khepera. The 
emblem of this was the beetle, scarabceus. When the egg of 
the world was broken, the universe was divided into three em- 
pires. A woman represents the heavenly and bends over the 
earth; on her back floats the sun, the planets, and the con- 
stellations. The next was the earth, and last the infernal 
regions. 

After all, as Bayard Taylor, says: "The most striking fact 
in all this collection is the demonstration that the glory of 
Egyptian art belongs to the age of Cheops, and only its deca- 
dence to the age of Rameses II. Not only the art, but the 
culture and religion, the political organization of Egypt, are 
carried back to the Third Dynasty, B. C. 4450; and Menes, 
the first historic king, dawns upon our knowledge, not as a 
primitive barbarian, but as the result of a long stage of unre- 
corded development." 

(Wilkinson assigns him to B. C. 2320; Brugsch, 4400; and 
Mariette, 5004; but this diversity does not affect the fact as to 
the stage of development reached by Egypt when history first 
finds it.) 



Mohammedanism in Egypt. 323 



CHAPTER XLI. 
Mohammedanism in Egypt. 

Theories of Mohammed — Peculiarities of the Koran, and its Teachings— Po- 
lygamy— Mohammedan Services— University to Educate Mohammedan 
Priests— Chapel of the Blind — Performance of Howling Dervishes— The 
Copts— Coptic Churches and Language— Greek Church— Protestant Mis- 
sions. 

The religion of Mohammed is a mixture of Judaism, Chris- 
tian, and Persian religions, with many original conceptions by 
the Prophet himself. It is impossible to understand it without 
a knowledge of the Koran. 

Mohammed professed to believe that his revelation was the 
oldest in the world. He hated heathenism in every form, far 
more than the Christians or the Jews appear to have done; 
and as an uncompromising opponent of polytheism he is de- 
serving of respect. So intense was his abhorrence of paganism 
that he repudiated the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, as he 
understood it, with an indignation that never allowed him or 
his followers to converse calmly upon the subject. He affirmed 
that it was "assigning partners " to the only true God. Mo- 
hammed did not advocate the persecution of Jews or Chris- 
tians, unless they opposed his teachings; but under all circum- 
stances idolaters were to be attacked. The fundamental con- 
fession is: "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is the 
Prophet of God." This is not all that the Mohammedans are 
to believe, for they must hold firmly to God and the angels, 
written revelation, the prophets, and the resurrection, judg- 
ment, immortality, and an absolute fatalistic predestination. 

In the Koran Abraham, Noah, Moses, and other Old Testa- 
ment characters frequently appear — Alexander the Great is 
called a prophet — and singular stories are told about them all. 

Mohammed teaches hospitality, frugality, and forbids put- 
ting money at interest, which prohibition is disregarded. Un- 
clean animals are forbidden, and every kind of intoxicating 



324 Travels in Three Continents. 

drink. Each man is allowed four wives, and Professor Socin, 
of Tubingen, in an article written for Baedeker on the manners 
and customs of Mohammedans, gives a description of the effect 
of this rule. The majority of the Mohammedans, notwith- 
standing this privilege, have but one wife, "owing to the 
difficulty of providing for several wives and families at once." 
The wives, moreover, are prone to quarrel, to the destruction 
of domestic peace, unless the husband can afford to assign 
them separate houses. 

I witnessed such a state of things in Utah when visiting Salt 
Lake City in 187 1. There I was the guest of a man who had 
three wives. The first was old, the second middle-aged, and 
the third young. The first was decrepit, the second was the 
manager, and treated the former comparatively well. When 
the husband proposed to marry the third, the second was in- 
dignant, and complained to the first, who replied : 

"He broke my heart when he married you, and I don't care 
how many more he takes." 

"Well," said number two, " she shall never come here" and 
she did not, being supported in another house. 

At least five times a day must the faithful Moslem pray, and 
there is a prayer corresponding to the Lord's Prayer, which is 
much used : 

"In the name of God, the merciful and gracious. 
Praise be to God, the Lord of creatures, the merciful and 
gracious, the Prince of the day of judgment; we serve thee, 
and we pray to thee for help; lead us in the right way of those 
to whom thou hast shown mercy, upon whom no wrath resteth, 
and who go not astray. Amen." 

Unbelievers are not admitted to ordinary services in the 
mosque, but are driven out as the sacred hour approaches. 
By feeing custodians we were occasionally permitted to look 
through the windows at their service. Without an image or 
music, or any external aid to the senses, they prostrate them- 
selves before God, reverently adoring him, repeating the 
names of his attributes, and are ready to die for their faith 
with a stolid heroism which would defy the force, ingenuity, 
and munitions of inquisition and death of the mightiest mon- 
archies and religious organizations on the globe. 



Mohammedanism in Egypt. 325 

To say that Mohammedanism is a dying religion appears to 
me incorrect. Of course, it has different contending sects, 
and where it comes in contact with European religions its vo- 
taries are corrupted, their strictness is relaxed, and they as- 
sume the garb and customs of unbelievers. Different systems 
of philosophy arise; skepticism appears, and as there are infidel 
nominal Catholics, depraved and almost pagan Christian sects, 
unbelieving, scoffing Protestants, so among the Mohammedans 
can be found similar degrees of faith and unfaith. But this 
state of things, however much it may be deplored, does not im- 
ply that Christianity is dying; neither does a similar condition 
imply the decay of Mohammedanism. It develops in the Sou- 
dan and elsewhere the same fanatical devotion, and, in my 
judgment, will exist for hundreds of years, capturing new 
tribes in the far East, and on the frontiers resisting every 
encroachment. When it arose its type of civilization made 
it possible to contend for centuries, successfully, upon the field 
of battle. It can do that no longer when in conflict with 
European powers; but the vastness of the East is not under- 
stood; its immense populations are not comprehended; only 
upon the surface and the outskirts is Mohammedanism mate- 
rially modified. 

In Cairo is a university for the instruction of Mohammedan 
priests. Its seat is the ancient Mosque of Gami-el-Azhar, and 
it was transformed into a university about the year of our 
Lord 980. From ten to twelve thousand students assemble 
here every day; in point of numbers leading all the universi- 
ties of the world. We saw the students grouped around the 
professors. Some had no books; others were swaying to and 
fro getting their lessons; others listening to the expositions of 
the teacher. There are four different 'sects, and each has a 
niche. The students were assembled in different places, ac- 
cording to the countries whence they came; and these places 
are called Rhoaks, as, the Rnuak of the West Africans, of the 
Syrians, Bagdadites, and of those who come from Mecca and 
Medina. 

The whole number of Sheiks, or professors, is about two 
hundred and fifty. Tuition is free, all the mosques being en- 
dowed, and an annual subsidy is distributed to each Riwak. 



$26 Travels in Three Continents. 

The ordinary time necessary to graduate is three years; but 
some remain as long as six or seven. The Sheiks get no sal- 
ary, but earn a living by teaching in private houses, and it is 
understood that such pupils often make gifts to their pro- 
fessors. 

We saw the president. He receives a salary, and is a dignified 
man, apparently much beloved, and we were told that he is a 
great wit. The finest specimen of oriental courtesy I saw 
was when he bowed to the students and indicated to them 
that the lesson for the day was over. 

Students who do not speak Arabic have to begin by master- 
ing the grammar; they then proceed with religious instruction, 
after which comes the study of law, ecclesiastical and secular, 
logic, rhetoric, poetry, and elocution. Authorities agree that 
instruction is purely memoriter. At graduation they receive 
diplomas, and can go forth to teach. This, though the larg- 
est university, is not the only one. 

A curious little chapel is known as the Chapel of the Blind. 
These students have always been fanatical, engage in riots, 
and display a singular power of finding and assaulting their 
foes. 

I could not see the spinning dervishes when in Egypt, for 
during my first visit to Cairo the head spinner was disabled; 
during my absence he died, and for a month or more after his 
demise his devotees would not spin. But the howling der- 
vishes performed every Friday afternoon. I was present on 
one occasion, and narrowly observed all that was done. The 
monastery is in a suburb of Cairo, on the banks of the Nile. 
At the appointed time the Sheik, whose office is hereditary, 
sits down in front of the niche called the Kibleh, in the direc- 
tion of Mecca, and the dervishes, sitting crosslegged upon the 
ground, form a large semicircle. Visitors stand outside a rail- 
ing four or five feet high. There is no charge for admission. 

Either the Sheik or a person appointed by him offers a brief 
prayer; then the dervishes utter in a loud voice the name of 
God, Allah, and declare his unity — " La ilaha il Allah." The 
moment they have done this they rise and come into the view 
of visitors not fortunate enough to secure a position next the 
railing. It was a weird spectacle. The dervishes were 




Howling Dervish. 



Mohammedanism in Egypt. 329 

peculiarly dressed, and of different complexions, some being 
pure Negroes from the Soudan. Without exception their 
voices were guttural and as harsh as the suppressed roar of the 
lion, and some of them as rasping as a camel's growl. 

The deputy of the Sheik was a fine-looking man, of intellec- 
tual cast and noble figure, with features and form not unlike 
those in portraits of Thomas Jefferson. He wore green spec- 
tacles with gold bows. Every motion was graceful and 
dignified, his voice soft and musical, and I was told that he 
is an educated man. 

There were fifty dervishes, one of whom was a small and 
handsome boy. Their hair was from one to three feet in 
length, abundant, and as black, coarse, and straight as the 
hair in a horse's tail. Once upon their feet, the men repeated 
in a monotone the words which they had first uttered, and 
other passages from the Koran, thrusting their heads backward 
and forward as they spoke, bending so that the upper part of 
their bodies formed nearly a right angle with their legs. 

At first the motion was slow and in perfect time, and the 
sound chiefly occupied the attention of the observer. It is 
difficult to impart any idea of the volume of sound. The 
voices of women who have raved in insanity for years some- 
times undergo such a change that it is difficult, their forms 
not seen, to believe that they are not men of the largest 
proportions. What, then, must be the effect of the contin- 
ual repetition of these words upon voices naturally guttural ? 

As they proceeded the time grew more r rapid and their 
voices waxed so loud as to become positively terrible. Ladies 
retired long before the exercises were ended; and a gentleman 
from London took his departure, saying that he had an almost 
irresistible impulse to jump over the rail and begin to repeat 
with the dervishes. The deputy merely kept time. At the 
left of the Sheik were the musicians, who performed upon the 
flute and a very long horn, and beat upon immense tambour- 
ines and small metal drums. 

Toward the climax the vehemence of the performance was 
appalling. Many seemed to become unconscious of their sur- 
roundings; their hair streamed out in masses, and divided, 
flowing over their faces and at the sides of their heads, and 
18 



33° Travels in Three Continents. 

sometimes seemed to stand literally on end as though a solid 
body. One visitor claimed that a man near him who moved 
his feet frequently emitted electric sparks. I did not see this 
but am not prepared to say that it is incredible. 

Some of the dervishes turned toward the visitors with 
the aspect of maniacs; others frothed at the mouth like dogs 
with hydrophobia, and near the close a gigantic Negro be- 
came wild. He shouted, threw back his head, was seized by 
two of the others, and sank into a cataleptic trance. Our guide 
translated some of his expressions, which were enthusiastic 
utterances of the names and attributes of the Deity, and the 
guide told us that " the power frequently came upon them in 
that way." 

There were three divisions of the service without intermis- 
sion, the transitions being marked by a lowering of the tones 
and a gradual slowing of the motions. I would not have be- 
lieved it possible for the human body to sustain such contor- 
tions without a rush of blood to the head, accompanied by 
convulsions or apoplexy. The vehemence and rapidity of the 
movements exceeded any acrobatic performance, while the 
howls would have put a whole menagerie to flight; but what a 
man does every day he can do any day. 

At last the Sheik waved his hand; there was silence, and he 
offered a prayer in a low tone. Then all repeated the word 
Hoo, the meaning of which is "He," referring to God, and, 
one by one, kissing the hand of the Sheik, they passed out 
through the center of the building. 

The howling dervishes carry on ordinary business. They 
train their male children to be their successors, and are not, 
either by the intelligent Mohammedans or the public, thought 
to be specially devout. The performance, whatever it was 
originally, is now a mixture of fanaticism and formalism. 

The Christian religion early obtained an ascendency in 
Egypt, and would probably have maintained it had it not been 
divided into sects upon metaphysical questions, and engaged in 
internecine wars. It was about 638 that the Arabs conquered 
the country; the majority of the peasants accepted the Mo- 
hammedan faith, and to-day nine tenths of the population of 
Egypt are of that religion. Many of the Copts, however, 



Mohammedanism in Egypt. 331 

"undoubtedly the most direct descendants of the ancient 
Egyptians," have adhered to Christianity. They belong to an 
ancient sect called Eutychians, otherwise known as Mon'ophy sites, 
the chief point in their belief being that Christ had no human 
nature, but was wholly divine. 

As a class the Copts pursue the indoor trades; are jewelers, 
tailors, etc. ; and their aptitude for mathematics brings them 
into demand also as accountants, bookkeepers, and clerks. 
In some respects their characters do not compare favorably 
with the Arabs. Many use spirituous liquors to excess, and they 
are also accused of not having as fixed principles of honesty as 
their Mohammedan neighbors. The general testimony of 
travelers and diplomatic agents in Egypt is to this effect. 
The inmates of the convents did not favorably impress me; 
the religious services were the least elevating that I have seen 
under the Christian name, and were longer than those of the 
Greek Church. The people revere the Bible, and many know 
by heart the gospels. 

I visited several of their churches, which are numerous 
in proportion to the worshipers. Their pulpits are generally 
of marble; and the buildings contain many shrines for relics 
of saints. Much use is made of processional crosses, and I 
saw one long procession in Cairo in which these were used 
with flags attached. Some of the churches are famous 
for beautiful antique silver and brass censers; some of these 
having bells attached to the chains. There are also rich cov- 
erings made of silver, silver-gilt, or iron, for copies of the gos- 
pels, and inside these cases the gospels are "hermetically 
sealed." The communion is administered in both wine and 
bread, and is given to children; and during the administration 
the priests are always barefooted — an ancient practice, which 
is said to have taken its rise from God's command to Moses to 
take off his shoes at the burning bush. I was present at a 
communion service; the chief ecclesiastics were clad in gor- 
geous vestments and behaved in a dignified manner, but the 
communicants rushed up to receive the elements without re- 
gard to reverence. 

The Coptic language is not used to any extent in the Church, 
neither do the Copts generally understand it, and where a few 



332 Travels in Three Continents. 

prayers are used in Coptic they are immediately repeated in 
Arabic for the benefit of the hearers. The number of Copts 
in Egypt is something less than four hundred thousand. In 
appearance they are usually diminutive in size and lighter in 
color than the Arabs, and wear turbans of blue or black, 
which no Mohammedan ever does. 

The Greek Church has quite a large number of members in 
Egypt, and the Catholic Church many adherents among the 
French population. Foreigners, wherever they exist in con- 
siderable numbers, have brought their religion with them. 
The Roman Catholic missions have not been successful in 
Egypt. Altogether the native and foreign Christians com- 
pose about one tenth of the population. 

To our own country belongs the honor of establishing and 
carrying forward successfully a Protestant mission in Egypt. 
This was begun in 1854, and carries on its work under 
three departments— the evangelistic, educational, and publish- 
ing. The work of the mission (United Presbyterian) extends 
from Alexandria to Assouan, and includes the district of 
Fayum. In the college at Asyoot and the three schools for 
boys at Cairo, Mansurah, and Alexandria there are over a 
thousand students. I met the graduates from these schools 
everywhere, speaking excellent English and exhibiting re- 
markable intelligence. Some were acting as guides, some as 
railway, telegraph, and consular agents, and still others as 
teachers. 

There is a large number of girls in the mission schools 
(over eleven hundred), and besides these there are seventy-one 
native schools taught by teachers who have been trained in 
the American mission schools under Protestant influences; 
and each of these is self-supporting. I was interested to 
ascertain the religions of the pupils. Out of five thousand 
five hundred and ninety-six, nine hundred and sixty-two were 
Protestants, three thousand four hundred and forty-three were 
Copts, seven hundred and seventeen Mohammedans, forty-five 
Roman Catholics, one hundred and sixteen Greeks, one hun- 
dred and forty-four Jews, and one hundred and sixty-five of 
various other sects. The work is conducted on the principle 
of making them pay so far as they are able, and three thou- 



Mohammedanism in Egypt. 333 

sand eight hundred and eighty-two paid something. The 
whole number of church members in the mission is two 
thousand three hundred and seven, and there is a steady in- 
crease every year. The scholars in the Sabbath school are 
about five thousand. Nearly all the converts have been from 
among the Copts, and the chief part of their success has been 
in upper Egypt. 

One question received a suggestive answer: " What pro- 
portion of your communicants have been converted from Mo- 
hammedanism? " The entire number was less than a hundred. 
The tenacity of the Mohammedan has as yet defied the efforts 
of other religions. It is peculiarly adapted to imbed itself in the 
memory and to develop a stubborn adherence. While in Egypt 
I talked with a score of intelligent Mohammedans, who were 
charitably disposed, liberal-minded men; but when I ventured 
to suggest doubts concerning the superiority of Mohammed- 
anism to Christianity, they called my attention to Roman 
Catholicism and the Greek Church, and with proud yet digni- 
fied scorn asked: "Shall we give up one God and take their 
images ? Never ! There is one God, and Mohammed is his 
prophet." I had a long conversation with a Mohammedan 
young man at Thebes, who had been educated at the Ameri- 
can Protestant school at Asyoot, and asked him how I could 
become a Mohammedan if I wished to do so. He explained 
the process, and what would be done in my honor in the 
villages if I would accept the true faith. His opinion of the 
Protestants was that they were good people who were trying 
to improve on the old Christianity, and if they would but go 
a little farther they would become true Mohammedans. 



334 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XLII. 
The Suez Canal, and the Last of Egypt. 

An Entertainment at the House of Dr. Grant Bey — Mr. Petrie— A Sandstorm 
— By Rail to the Suez Canal — Ismailia — History and Description of the 
Canal — Ride on the Canal to Port Said — Characteristics of the Place — 
Festivities at the Opening of the Canal — Leaving Africa. 

The most helpful acquaintance made by our party in Cairo 
was Dr. Grant Bey, previously referred to in connection with 
his services as a physician. His residence is the resort of all 
the learned, and, like the abode of Dr. Schlieman, in Athens, 
besides being a dwelling and a professional office, it is a 
museum. It is the habit of the cultured host to invite his 
friends from time to time for a seance. Dr. Bancroft and I 
twice had the opportunity of being present. 

The guests arrived about eight o'clock, and spent an hour 
or more in the capacious parlors, engaged in mutual intro- 
ductions and pleasant social intercourse. A little after nine, 
Dr. Grant read a paper upon an important branch of Egyp- 
tology. During the reading coffee, tea, and sherbet were 
served at intervals of twenty or twenty-five minutes, in true 
oriental fashion. The servants moved as noiselessly as the 
far-famed slaves of the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, and the 
reading of the paper was not intermitted. Whenever Dr. 
Grant referred to any particular relic of Egyptian civilization, 
as confirming or illustrating the point under discussion, the 
specimens, if small enough, were passed from hand to hand; if 
large they were pointed out. So numerous and valuable are 
Dr. Grant's possessions that they would give fame to any city 
in this country, if collected and classified in a museum of 
Egyptian antiquities. 

I had the rare good fortune to meet the most distin- 
guished living Egyptian explorer, Mr. Petrie. Like many 
men distinguished for extraordinary perseverance, physical 
endurance, and heroism, Mr. Petrie is in no way remarkable in 



The Suez Canal, and the Last of Egypt. 335 

appearance beyond having a keen, black eye, dark features, 
and a well-knit frame. He is equally interesting as a writer 
or talker. More recently, at Dr. Grant's, Major General Sir 
Francis Grenfell Pasha, in proposing a vote of thanks, re- 
marked that Mr. Petrie combines in an unequaled degree 
the scholar, the archaeologist, and the practical worker in the 
field of Egyptian exploration, and that he is a man of whom 
England may well be proud. He has discovered proofs 
of the art of writing four thousand years ago, which demon- 
strate that "the long-disputed question, whether Homer 
could have committed his Iliad to writing, may be decided in 
the affirmative." 

To meet such a man, to note the quiet enthusiasm with 
which he spoke of his work, the total absence of pretense, 
familiarizes the mind with these explorations, and gives a cur- 
rent interest to the successive announcements of his dis- 
coveries. 

Two well-known Americans were in Cairo: ex-President 
Andrew D. White, of Cornell University, and the Rev. Bishop 
Charles H. Fowler. The latter was returning from a tour 
among the missions of his Church in China and Japan; the 
former was abroad to investigate some important scientific 
questions, as well as to recuperate his health. 

By this time a number of our fellow-passengers on the Nile 
had succumbed to the peculiar influence which prostrated 
several before the voyage ended. Strange to say, the athletes 
of the party suffered most. During our last sojourn in Cairo 
a heavy sandstorm raged, and though we were seven or eight 
miles from the desert, a great part of the time the whole city 
was rendered as dark as London in the thickest fog. The at- 
mosphere was filled with particles which, blown by heavy 
gusts of wind against the houses, trees, and human beings, 
covered them almost as though it were a blizzard of snow. 
"We had many experiences of this sort while on the Nile, and 
it would be difficult to decide which is more to be dreaded, a 
blizzard on the plains, or a sandstorm in the desert. 

We left Cairo, going by rail along the skirts of the Arabian 
desert to Ismailia on the Suez Canal. After a few miles had 
been traveled black clouds appeared. It had been a long 



336 Travels in Three Continents. 

time since we had seen anything of the kind. Every appear- 
ance indicated a storm of violence, and soon a few drops of 
rain, the first that we had seen in Egypt, struck against the 
car windows. We involuntarily remarked simultaneously, 
"There will be a heavy shower. " But after a dashing of 
water, such as would be produced by the throwing of a few 
pailfuls upon the train, all was over. The clouds were chiefly 
wind, but sometimes a little rain falls in this part of Egypt. 
In Cairo it averages only one and a half inches per year, and 
in Alexandria about eight inches. 

Early in the afternoon we reached Ismailia, which is a pre- 
possessing place. The roads are broad, the trees beautiful, 
and there are fine houses and estates. The object of especial 
interest was the residence of M. de Lesseps, the first house 
built. It is in the style prevalent in Switzerland. The climate 
is delightful ; fresh breezes blow by day and night, winter and 
summer, and altogether it is as attractive a place for residence 
as Egypt contains. 

Here I had the first view of the Suez Canal, the greatest 
work of modern times. The ancients, however, in this antic- 
ipated the moderns. Napoleon Bonaparte, that universal 
genius, in 1798 examined the remains of old canals, and 
ordered certain scientific men to make surveys and "prepare 
a project for uniting the two seas by a direct canal." They 
prepared an elaborate report, but it was not completed until 
after the French had evacuated Egypt. 

In 1855, after many projects, a plan was made by M. 
Linant Bey and M. Mougel Bey; de Lesseps having had a 
"first firman of concession " from Said Pasha, the prospectus 
drawn up by the two individuals just mentioned was under 
his superintendency. In 1856 the project was submitted 
to the International Commission, consisting of delegates from 
Austria, France, Holland, England, Italy, Spain, and Prussia. 
After various modifications were decided upon the Suez Canal 
Company was formed. 

The father of M. de Lesseps, who was Napoleon's chief of 
police in Moscow, was the first representative of France in 
Egypt, and his son for seven years (1831-38) was consul at 
Cairo, and therefore understood the whole subject. England 



The Suez Canal, and the Last of Egypt. 337 

interfered to prevent the accomplishment of the plan. De 
Lesseps opened a subscription. The capital was to be eight 
million pounds, the shares twenty pounds each. In 1859 work 
was begun. Four fifths of the workmen were to be Egyptians, 
who were conscripted from all parts of the country. By 1863 
the conscription ceased, as the drain was twenty thousand 
fresh laborers a month, and agriculture suffered. Hence 
machinery had to be invented to take the place of manual 
labor. The first cost of that machinery was twelve millions of 
dollars, and it consumed each month two hundred thousand 
dollars' worth of fuel. 

Ismailia is midway between the two seas connected by the 
canal, and at the center of Lake Timsah. The whole distance 
from Suez to Port Said is one hundred miles, and the canal first 
runs through the plain of Suez, a sort of marshy lagoon grad- 
ually rising from the sea to the heights of Shaloof. 

This part of the canal is ten miles long. The cutting of 
Shaloof runs five miles through tenacious soil and rocks 
covered with sand. Then the canal enters the chain called 
the " Bitter Lakes," twenty- five miles in length, and this is fol- 
lowed by a detour from the lakes of two miles, and two other 
cuttings six miles long, when Lake Timsah is entered, which 
is five miles in length, the distance from that point to Port 
Said being forty-seven miles. Where the banks are low the 
canal is three hundred and twenty-eight feet wide; where 
they are high, one hundred and ninety. At its base the canal 
is seventy-two feet wide, and its depth is twenty-six feet. Not 
till the eighteenth of March, 1869, was the water of the Medi- 
terranean allowed to flow in. 

We rode along the canal from Ismailia to Port Said upon a 
postal steam launch called the Osiris. It was crowded, the 
wind was high on the lakes, and the ride was not especially 
pleasant. Having been so long accustomed to the heat of 
upper Egypt, the wind was chilling, and overcoats and blan- 
kets comfortable. Where the desert rose above the banks, 
nothing but sand could be seen; but there were frequent stops, 
at some points long enough to admit of short excursions into 
the surrounding deserts. We passed steamers of all nations; 
the larger vessels are required to travel at the rate of less 



338 Travels in Three Continents. 

than seven miles an hour, because a more rapid motion, bv 
the washing of the waves, would injure the embankments. 
One of these monsters in the lock forms a spectacle of rare 
interest. 

From England to Bombay the saving by the canal is 4,840 
miles; from New York, 3,600; from St. Petersburg, 4,840; 
from Marseilles, 5,940; and from London to Hong-Kong, 
4, 1 17 miles. 

On approaching the harbor of Port Said, the canal spreads 
to the width of one thousand feet, and, leaving the port and 
town on the left, makes its connection with the open sea. 
The town owes its origin to the canal, and has a population of 
nearly twenty thousand, of whom a third are Europeans, most 
of them French, and morally this city is one of the worst places 
in the world. Not that the permanent residents universally 
deserve this description, but at all times it is overrun by 
sailors of every nationality, and those who pander to their de- 
praved tastes are indescribably corrupt. There is no standard 
which prevents the exhibition of every form of iniquity, so that 
those of a sensitive disposition need to learn the art of not 
seeing or hearing as they pass along the streets, even in the 
daytime. 

I fell in with a citizen who was present November 16, 1869, 
at the opening of the canal. His description of the festivities 
was graphic, and if it cost the Khedive twenty-one million 
dollars, as has been stated, they certainly should have sur- 
passed anything the world has ever seen. 

At Port Said we took passage on the steamer Senegal, of the 
Messagaries Maritimes Line, and sailed on a voyage which, 
beginning in Africa, was to end in Asia. Again we saw the 
Mediterranean, and with little satisfaction, not merely because 
of the memory and anticipation of storms and seasickness, 
but because it meant that we should depart out of Egypt. 
Its rivers, ruins, Pyramids, and people have left an impression 
not to be effaced; and the memory of an atmosphere trans- 
lucent, of a desert more awful, if not more sublime, than moun- 
tain or ocean, a sky "inlaid with patens of bright gold," and 
gardens as fertile as Eden, will ever abide. 



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Entering the Holy Land. 341 



CHAPTER XLIII. 
Entering the Holy Land. 

Approaching the Turkish Empire — The Harbor at Jaffa — Landing — Ancient 
History — Modern Features — Fruit and Flowers — People — Incident of 
Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Whatever his creed, who can approach the borders of the 
Turkish empire without reverence for its domain, when he re- 
flects that it contains the sacred places of Judaism, Christian- 
ity, and Mohammedanism? The first rays of dawn faintly 
illuminated the low shore as the Senegal drew near. We were 
upon deck before the stars were out of sight, and watched 
every movement upon ship, sea, and shore. As light increased 
the mountains of Judea held the gaze of all to whom the 
scene was new, until in the distance the lofty battlements of 
Jaffa (ancient Joppa) came slowly into view. 

We came to anchor half a mile from shore, and were for- 
tunate that we could land at all. Jaffa, though one of the 
worst in the world, is the only natural harbor in Palestine 
south of Haifa. If going from the south it is a common ex- 
perience of travelers to be carried by to Haifa, or to Beirut; 
if going the other way, to Fort Said. When the sea is entirely 
smooth without, it is often dangerously rough in this rock- 
bound, rock-divided harbor of irregular depth. The city lies 
at the foot of a rock one hundred and sixteen feet high, along 
the slopes of which are built houses of soft sandstone, light in 
color. These houses, rising one above another, present an 
imposing appearance, similar to that of the citadel at Quebec. 

Baedeker places first, in his summary of works descriptive 
of Palestine, the Bible, " which [he says] supplies us with the 
best and most accurate information regarding Palestine, ex- 
tending back to a very remote period, and should be carefully 
consulted by the traveler at every place of importance as he 
proceeds on his journey." 

When the boatmen came on board a scene of excitement and 



342 Travels in Three Continents. 

tumult began, the like of which we had not witnessed since 
arriving at Alexandria. Two rival tourist companies were 
represented by agents, who came to superintend the debarka- 
tion of passengers using their tickets. The advantage of 
being connected with one of these was soon seen. All trouble 
was taken by their agents, whose baggage boats were pre- 
ceded by highly ornamented crafts in which they rode. They 
took charge of the luggage, drove back boatmen, and saw 
that their passengers were safely lowered. The yells and 
confusion were terrifying to the inexperienced. 

Showers were falling as we landed, and magnificent was the 
spectacle of clouds, with intervals of blue sky and rainbows, 
and all the wondrous phenomena for which we had so Long 
sighed under the hot, ever blue, dazzling sky of Egypt. The 
rain, however, had turned dust into mud, and as we ascended 
the hill along the narrow streets, encountering donkeys and 
troops of camels, it required skill and effort to climb the steep 
incline. At the summit we found carriages, which took us to 
our hotel outside the walls. 

When Joshua divided the land of Canaan the seventh lot 
was for the children of Dan, and it ended with the territory 
before Japho (Joppa). Up to that time it had been a Phoeni- 
cian colony. When Solomon sent to Hiram, King of Tyre, to 
procure suitable wood to build the temple, his specifications 
called for cedar, firs, and algum trees from Lebanon, and 
Hiram wrote: "We will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as 
thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea 
to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem." 

Five hundred years afterward, when the temple was rebuilt 
by Zerubbabel, the prophet Ezra tells us that the masons and 
carpenters of Sidon and Tyre brought "cedar trees from 
Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they 
had of Cyrus king of Persia." Jonah went down to Joppa 
and took passage from there to Tarshish, supposed to be 
Tartessus in Spain. 

Here Dorcas lived and died, and hither came St. Peter in 
response to a sudden summons, and, when he saw the dead 
woman, "raised her to life." It was here that Peter tarried 
for many days with Simon the tanner, where was wrought the 



Entering the Holy Land. 343 

miracle which taught Peter that his old exclusiveness was to be 
a thing of the past. From 1654 the site of the Latin convent 
is said to be the same as that of the house of Simon the tanner. 
The Arabs claim to have the true site beneath a mosque in a 
lighthouse. So careful an authority as Dean Stanley thinks 
that the present house of Simon the tanner shown to visitors, is 
upon the spot. He says: " One of the few localities which can 
claim to represent the historical scene of the New Testament 
is the site of the house of Simon the tanner at Joppa. " The 
building is close to the sea; the waves beat against its court- 
yard wall; a tradition exists of its having been for a long time 
used as a tannery; in the center of the court there is a spring 
of fresh water necessary for such a business. We ascended to 
the fiat housetop, and above was the same sky; before, the 
same sea and threatening rocks; in the background, the hills 
of Judea; fishermen could be seen in and upon the water, and 
camels, donkeys, sheep, and cattle in the streets and suburbs. 

Wandering along the shore of the Mediterranean we saw 
countless scallop shells, recalling the fact that for ages past 
they were worn by pilgrims after their return as a mark that 
they had been to the Holy Land. 

An interesting modern feature is the Mildmay Hospital, 
known as the Jaffa Medical Mission and English Hospital, 
founded by Miss Bessie Mangan. She labored five years in 
London as a missionary, and was known among the poor as 
" Our bright-faced lady." 

In December, 1877, she went out to Jaffa to assist Miss 
Arnott, and in less than twelve months started a medical mission 
under a qualified native Christian doctor trained at the American 
College at Beirut. She went to Jaffa at her own charges, 
and was free to do as she pleased. When the hospital opened 
there were twenty patients, and the attendance soon swelled 
to one hundred. Jews, Moslems, Latins, Greeks, and Maron- 
ites listened to her words and received with love her womanly 
and Christly ministrations. "She never spoke to them of 
creeds, but simply of their sins and of the Saviour whose love 
had brought her there, and bigotry was silent before the truth 
thus tenderly and winningly displayed. " 

The Turks opposed the work, but its excellent results and 



344 Travels in Three Continents. 

her persuasion in personal visits to Constantinople overcame 
the opposition, and, when the hospital was finally dedicated, 
Moslem and Jewish officials attended. The number of at- 
tendants at the Medical Mission amounted to eleven thousand 
one hundred and seventy-six in the thirteen months preced- 
ing December 31, 1886. During that time two hundred and 
thirty-one were nursed in the hospital, and one hundred and 
twenty scholars attended the Sunday school. The fund is 
collected from all parts of the United Kingdom. 

Miss Arnott's school, to which Miss Mangan first went in 
Jaffa, is also a voluntary school, established in 1863. It has 
met with success, and sustains a school of fifty day pupils. 

The immense size of the fruits and vegetables for sale in the 
market reminds one of California. We were there when the 
orange gardens were beginning to blossom, and the lemon, apri- 
cot, apple, quince, and plum trees were in bloom. Gardens 
and orchards are all about the city. The oranges are the best I 
have ever seen; they hang on the trees a great while, and are 
sold at the rate of ten for a Turkish piaster — about a cent each 
of our money. The people were obviously of a different type 
from those in other oriental lands. 

In whatever part of the world one comes upon the track of 
Napoleon he is sure to meet some authentic history or prob- 
able tradition which exhibits him despotizing, and hesitating 
at no act of force, fraud, ingratitude, or cruelty necessary to 
accomplish his purposes; but everywhere displaying transcend- 
ent genius and overwhelming energy. In 1799 he stormed 
Jaffa, then surrounded with walls. A plague broke out among 
his soldiers, and the story is that he ordered them poi- 
soned. One critic says that in this credulous land of tra- 
ditions it is difficult to ascertain the truth of even so recent a 
circumstance. On the other hand Dr. Thomson, who resided 
in Jaffa as long ago as 1834, appears to believe it, and he had 
the opportunity of conversing with Mr. R. Anutun Murad, 
United States consul, whose father had been a resident of the 
country, and must have had knowledge of the facts. 



"Jn the Way Going Up to Jerusalem." 345 



CHAPTER XLIV. 
" In the Way Going Up to Jerusalem." 

The Road to Jerusalem— Plain of Sharon — Flowers — Road toLydda — Tower 
of Ramleh — Gezer — Valley of Ajalon (Yalo) — Latrun — Amwas — Abou- 
Gosch — Mizpah — Jerusalem ! 

Jaffa is more than thirty miles northwest from Jerusalem; 
but the direct road is excellent for pedestrians, horsemen, or 
carriages. There are but two or three roads in all Palestine 
passable for four-wheeled vehicles, but this has been made in 
the French style, and displays fine engineering. We had 
bargained for a "carriage," and, when it appeared, saw a 
wagon of the roughest sort, as inconvenient and unpleasant 
as one would be likely to find on four wheels in any part of 
the world. 

The orange and other orchards, through which the road 
winds at first, are surrounded by high cactus hedges, which 
are almost impenetrable. Here and there were fountains, and 
the road was frequently shaded by cypress and sycamore 
trees. In less than an hour we entered the plain of Sharon, 
which extends along the seacoast from Jaffa to Ca^sarea, and 
is an expanse of sand covered in varying thickness with soil, 
beneath which is an inexhaustible supply of water. The soil 
produces abundant crops, springing up almost by magic after 
rains, or whenever artificially watered. The water wheels, 
unlike those we had seen in Egypt, give a picturesque aspect 
to the landscape. The supply is so accessible that the entire 
plain seems to cover a river filtering through the sand on its 
way to sea. 

Watchtowers are frequent, and break the monotony. In 
the open country there are neither fences nor hedges, 
boundary lines being marked by stones as they were in Old 
Testament times. A farm used for the instruction of Jewish 
young men in agriculture was pointed out to us on the right. 
A fountain surrounded by sycamores and cypresses is said to 



346 Travels in Three Continents. 

be on the site of the tomb of Dorcas. Spurious guides will 
say that "it is the tomb of Dorcas," or "the place where she 
was raised to life," whichever will please the traveler more. 
The plain itself was beautiful, for the recent rains had given 
life to every spear of grass, and myriads of flowers of the 
brightest yellow, the richest red, the softest blue, were bloom- 
ing on every side. 

As they passed we noted travelers of different nationalities. 
Here were two or three Jews going to Jerusalem, and a 
few minutes afterward we met Latin monks; then Moslems. 
This is the ancient thoroughfare from the sea to Jerusalem! 
Over this road filed the long processions carrying materials 
for the temple! Kings, prophets, apostles, and countless 
pilgrims have traversed it! Great armies, pagan, Jewish, 
Mohammedan! Pilgrims and Crusaders! 

The general character of the plants and flowers is similar to 
that of Spain and Algiers. Tulips and anemones were 
profuse. The Song of Solomon says: "I am the rose of 
Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." But we saw no roses such 
as we are familiar with in America, and though there are 
thousands of sweet-breathed, dewy flowers, nowhere did I find 
anything that would have suggested to me Bishop Heber's 
simile: 

" How sweet the breath, beneath the hill, 
Of Sharon's dewy rose! " 

Many a flower has been supposed to be the one meant by 
Solomon — the narcissus, the meadow saffron, and certain spe- 
cies of lily. Thomson testifies that he has seen thousands 
of Solomon's roses on Sharon, but that they are a species of 
the marshmallow, and says before we protest against degrad- 
ing the poetic rose to the marshmallow: "Let me tell you 
that certain kinds of mallows grow into the stout bush and 
bear thousands of beautiful flowers." 

There is, however, no dispute about the identity of the plain of 
Sharon, and it was sufficient for us to see it covered with the 
most brilliant and beautiful flowers. Those who go there in 
the autumn see only a barren wilderness. 

The Mohammedan villages and the olive plantations inter- 
ested us, but not so much as the traces of the primitive in- 



"In the Way Going Up to Jerusalem." 347 

habitants of the country. After traveling an hour and a half 
over the road to Lydda we turned to the left, when the town 
became plainly visible. It was there that Peter healed the 
paralytic Eneas when he was "passing through all quarters, 
and came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda." 
There, in 445 A. D., an ecclesiastical council was held for the 
trial of Pelagius on a charge of heresy. 

We scanned the horizon to catch a glimpse of the celebrated 
Tower of Ramleh, and at last saw it. The Arabians say that 
the town of Ramleh was founded in the year 716. Formerly 
it had walls with twelve gates — four large, the others smaller. 
There is a tradition that this place is in what was called Ari- 
mathea in the New Testament. Professor Robinson examines 
the statement with his usual fairness and thoroughness, and 
comes to the conclusion that it has no foundation. Thomson, 
on the other hand, says: "I am unable to decide the ques- 
tion." 

The Tower of Ramleh is undoubtedly of Mohammedan 
origin; and walking through olive plantations and between 
cactus hedges for a quarter of a mile, and then through an old 
cemetery, we found it to be part of an ancient mosque. The 
outer walls, about six hundred feet in circumference, can be 
traced; also the rooms in the recess, the gateways, and the 
fountains. The tower is about one hundred feet high, and is 
ascended by one hundred and twenty much-worn steps. From 
the summit one sees the entire plain of Sharon, with the 
mountains of Judea, Samaria, and the whole land from Mount 
Carmel, on the shores of the Mediterranean, all the way to 
the mountains of Samaria. The Mediterranean is visible, 
many miles away. Lydda, several miles distant, seems but a 
few hundred feet. Along the mountain sides villages glistened 
in the sunlight. Ashdod, Askalon, and Gath could be identi- 
fied. 

Beneath the tower are ancient vaults, and the Mohammed- 
ans represent that they contain the bodies of forty of the 
prophets. The Christian version is that they contain the 
bodies of forty Christian martyrs. 

The route to Jerusalem from Ramleh was still to the south- 
east. We spent a little time in the village, but saw nothing 
19 



348 Travels in Three Continents. 

remarkable there except three monasteries, Latin, Greek, and 
Russian. The Russian National Church, since the time of 
Peter the Great, has not been in communion with the ortho- 
dox Greek Church. The Latin monastery in Ramleh is under 
the management of the Franciscan monks. Pilgrims were 
standing about who were remaining here over night in their 
journey between Jaffa and Jerusalem. The palm trees were 
insignificant compared with those in Egypt. In the valley is 
a cemetery for the common people; on the hills are the tombs 
of Mohammedan saints. They were shrines of devotion as 
well as burial places, and pious Mohammedans could be seen 
paying their vows. 

Not far from Ramleh a belated farmer favored us with an 
exhibition of the old-fashioned Scripture plow. There were 
the poles, one attached to the yoke to pull with, one end of 
the other held by the driver, the other end serving as a plow- 
share. The process is a scratching rather than an upturning of 
the soil. A well-informed man told us that it is really better for 
many parts of the country than an American plow would be. 

The identification of Gezer, the ruins of which are visible 
from the road, is a fact of importance to Bible students. 
There the Canaanites were so strong that Ephraim, of whose 
lot this was the frontier, in the time of the Judges, could not 
drive them out; but "the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer. " i Kings 
ix gives a full account of the ruins and traces of the city 
boundaries; for a number of questions have been settled, and 
clear evidences found of a city built after the plan in Num- 
bers xxxv. 

From the summit of a hill we looked forward to the valley of 
Ajalon, now known as Yalo. When we crossed it we passed 
over the spot where Joshua conquered the Amorites, and, ac- 
cording to the tenth chapter of the Book of Joshua, the 
miracle occurred when he exclaimed, "Sun, stand thou still 
upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." 
How many disputes have been held as to whether that ever 
occurred! "It is not the sun that moves, but the earth," 
says one. "Neither the earth nor the sun could be stopped 
without disarranging the whole solar system," says another. 
The third exclaims, " How absurd to suppose that for an in- 






" In the Way Going Up to Jerusalem." 349 

significant battle the heavens would be disturbed." " Joshua 
was not inspired, or he would have known better than to com- 
mand the sun and the moon to stand still ; he would have used 
scientific language." 

Nautical almanacs, scientifically constructed at the present 
day, use the ancient phrase, " Sun rises and sets." 

The history details miraculous or natural events. If the 
former, it is as easy to believe that God prolonged the light, 
as to believe anything else told in the book. 

The five kings fled over the hills and hid in a cave, and the 1 
route they must have taken was plainly before our eyes. 

Refreshing springs were frequent, and as a rural scene the 
country was charming. But after a time long mountain 
ranges appeared, and slowly we toiled up the slopes of the first 
mountain of Judea. The road here rose and fell, making a 
figure of the letter S on the side of every high hill. Villages 
of historic interest occupied our attention, but only the more 
important can be mentioned. We had farewell glimpses of the 
plain of Sharon, whose green turned to blue in the distance, 
and came to the village of Latrun, the meaning of which is 
robber. One of its legends is that the penitent thief, spoken 
of in these myths as Dimas or Dismas, was born there. A 
later tradition is that when Joseph and Mary went down to 
Egypt with the infant Christ they passed through that place, 
and Dismas and the other thief attacked them, and that the 
one who became penitent subsequently protected the Son of 
Mary from the violence of the other, and that on the cross, 
when he threw himself on the mercy of Christ, this was remem- 
bered to his advantage. This is nonsense throughout, for St. 
Luke says that this thief at first participated with the other in 
railing at Christ on the cross. 

Two hours' journey farther there is a place called Amwas, be- 
lieved from the third to the thirteenth century to be the Emmaus 
mentioned in Luke; but that is now held to be impossible on 
account of its not corresponding with the distance. Most ob- 
jects in this region bear names derived from Bible characters, 
often without reason. We passed Job's well, and not far from 
it Job's monastery. 

Now the road became steep; the horses panted as they 



350 Travels in Three Continents. 

dragged the wagon up the narrow defile. We were surrounded 
by hills, some overgrown with stunted trees, others as de- 
void of vegetation as the hills of Norway north of the arctic 
circle. Where there was anything for them to eat, herds of 
goats and flocks of sheep were feeding under the care of shep- 
herds. On reaching the summit we could discern the sea and 
the coast as far back as Jaffa, including Ramleh and the 
plain of Sharon. Along the road were olive trees, and among 
them the carob, supposed to be the tree which produced the 
beans, the husks of which were the food mentioned in the 
parable of the prodigal son. 

The village of Abou-Gosch dates back to 1813. A Sheik of 
that name, having six brothers and eighty-five descendants, 
ruled the whole region despotically, and sallied forth, like the 
old robbers on the Rhine, upon passing pilgrims. During the 
Egyptian supremacy they were suppressed; but, like the 
descendants of the Algerine pirates, they retain their wealth. 
Abou-Gosch is buried there in a large mosque. The region has 
been identified, by Professor Edward Robinson, with Kirjath- 
jearim, scholars generally accepting the conclusion. Hence 
men went to receive the ark of the Lord when the terrified 
Philistines brought it back; and they placed it in the house of 
Abinadab. When David had fixed his capital at Jerusalem, he 
went to Kirjath-jearim to bring the ark to Jerusalem, but vio- 
lated the law; bringing upon Uzzah, who attempted to steady 
the ark, the punishment described in the Book of Numbers. 
After it had remained at the house of Obed-edom three 
months, it was carried to Jerusalem by the Levites, according 
to the law. 

In about an hour we reached a summit from which we could 
see Neby Samwil, where most traditions unite in saying that 
the prophet Samuel was buried. It was Mizpah, the city of 
Benjamin. Here on this solitary mountain peak, six hundred 
feet above the plain of Gibeon, and three thousand above the 
sea level, during the time of the Judges, were held the 
national assemblies of the tribes of Israel. Here the Crusad- 
ers built a church. In the valley of Kolonieh is a village, sur- 
rounded by olive and fig orchards, held to have been the birth- 
place of John the Baptist. This is based on the fact that his 



"In the Way Going Up to Jerusalem." 



35i 



father was a priest, and would therefore live near Jerusalem, 

and that, in Luke i, 39, he is said to live in "the hill country, 

. a city of Juda." Kolonieh, a charming village, is 




Mizpah. 



another of the numerous competitors for the site of Emmaus, 
but cannot be harmonized with the statement of Luke that the 
place was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem. 

From this point it is a steady climb of four and a half miles 
to Jerusalem. Higher and higher, rougher and rougher grew 
the road, and slower the pace of the horses, till it seemed, in 
the darkness of the evening, as though we should never reach 
our journey's end. 

When we saw the lights in the suburbs of Jerusalem it was 
a moment of delight, of solemnity, and of sublimity. For of 
it the greatest of the kings of Israel said: " If I forget thee, 
O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." To it 
the Son of God said: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, . . . how 
often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a 
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 
not!" And it became a type of heaven, for Paul said: 
"Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us 
all;" and John saw in the spirit "that great city, the holy 
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." And I stood 
at the gate of JERUSALEM! 



352 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XLV. 
Jerusalem. 

Situation — History — Population. 

The situation of Jerusalem made its history, the two being 
so inseparably connected that one cannot be understood or 
interpreted without the knowledge of the other. The dimen- 
sions of this city varied greatly in different ages; but its nucleus 
remained unchanged, and that central area stands forth un- 
questioned as the rock to which every reasonable hypothesis 
must be fastened, and to which every explorer must return 
for a new start. Our hotel was just outside the Jaffa Gate, and 
from that point, after a short excursion within the walls, we 
ascended the neighboring hills in order to observe the situ- 
ation of the Holy City. 

Far up on lofty hills, separated on the west and south from 
the surrounding territory by deep ravines and rugged valleys, 
its foundation being a vast plateau of limestone, on the north 
attached to the mountains of Palestine, Jerusalem presents, 
"beyond any important city that has ever existed on the 
earth, the aspect of a mountain city." 

This situation explains most of the references in the Bible: 
"As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is 
round about his people." 

When the chosen people conquered Palestine the Jebusites 
were settled in this region. Their capital was Jebus, and there 
their king lived. Within its walls they retired when pursuit 
became hot. The triumphant list given by Joshua of the 
kings he conquered and of the territories which he occupied 
is brought to a humiliating close by the confession: "As for 
the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of 
Judah could not drive them out." 

As it was at that date it remained, threatening the children 
of Israel and defying their power, until four hundred years 
after Joshua; then David determined to take away the re- 




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Jerusalem. 355 

proach, and punish the people for their past misconduct. 
Flushed with previous victories he approached their city, and 
fancying themselves secure in their impregnable fortress, they 
taunted him, satirically suggesting that the blind and the 
lame could keep his army out. To stir the people to deeds of 
heroism David said: "Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, 
and smiteth the Jebusites, . . . he shall be chief and captain." 
It was this which gave Joab, the son of Zeruiah, "the opportu- 
nity of his life," and "David took the castle of Zion " and 
"dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it The city of 
David." 

Thus it came to pass that Jerusalem was not the capital of 
the country from the beginning, as was the case with Rome, 
Athens, and Thebes, but the nation was four hundred years 
old before its permanent capital, which had been at different 
times Hebron, Bethel, and Shechem, was established. 

Its capture by the Arabians and Chaldeans is described in 
the Bible. 

When Alexander the Great appeared before Jerusalem it 
surrendered. The Ptolemys took possession of it in the year 
320 B. C. Afterward came the long struggles, triumphs, and 
defeats of the Maccabees. 

Such were the internal troubles of that region so remote 
from Rome that the Parthians took possession of the city, but 
in the time of Herod it was recaptured; then followed the 
brief period included in the life of Christ. The disturbances 
after his crucifixion between the fanatics, led by Eleazar, and 
the conservatives, resulted in a temporary triumph over the 
Romans, which so intoxicated the Jews as to lead them to 
attempt to achieve independence of Rome. Then the empire 
awoke and sent Vespasian with sixty thousand men, who sub- 
dued the country; delaying, however, his advance against 
Jerusalem, he finally returned to Rome, leaving the victory 
to be completed by his son Titus. 

That famous siege is an important part of Roman history. 
Having seen the Triumphal Arch of Titus in Rome, I viewed 
with peculiar interest the scenes of his exploits. The forces 
of Titus were massed on the west and northwest, while one 
legion of six thousand was on the Mount of Olives. The siesre 



356 Travels in Three Continents. 



ran about the first of April, A. D. 70. The action was inter- 
mittent, but about the twenty-third of the month the engines 
were brought up to near the very spot occupied by our hotel. 
Famine within and destructive operations without reduced 
the Jews to a terrible condition; but their courage did not 
fail. Not till the fifth of July was the castle stormed, and on 
the tenth of August the temple was fired. This is said to have 
been contrary to the orders of Titus. By the seventh of 
September the whole city was a mass of ruins, and was prac- 
tically extinct for fifty years. 

It was then rebuilt by Hadrian, passed through various 
vicissitudes in connection with the pagan and Christian history 
of Rome, was conquered by the Persians in 614, and in 637 
fell into the hands of the Mohammedans, who held it for four 
hundred years. Then came the Crusaders, who maintained 
their power for eighty-eight years, when Saladin wrested it 
from them, and strongly fortified it. Forty-two years later 
the Christians again conquered it, but since the middle of the 
thirteenth century it has been under the sway of the Moham- 
medans. 

One purpose of this sketch is to remove from the mind of 
the reader the idea that the Jerusalem of which the Bible 
speaks is to be seen by the traveler. It is not there. None 
can be sure that there is standing on the site of Jerusalem a 
single building or tower upon which Christ or any of his 
apostles looked. 

Jerusalem was founded on four hills. In ancient times 
these were separated by very deep valleys, but the rubbish of 
the successive destructions of the city, more than sixteen in 
number, has filled the valleys so that the hills seem much 
lower than formerly; but Zion still towers more than three 
hundred feet above the valley of Hinnom, and more than five 
hundred feet above the valley of Jehoshaphat. The valley of 
Tyropoeon, or of the Cheesemakers, separates Zion from Akra 
and Moriah. 

Jerusalem was " compact together," for it was impossible 
to build across the deep valleys that surround it on every 
side except the northwest. 

In the days of Herod the city had sixty towers, and a reason- 



Jerusalem. 357 

able estimate assumes a large ordinary population, which in 
festival times was increased to millions. Formerly I doubted 
the estimates given by Josephus of the number of persons 
present at the festivals; but on visiting the great fair at Nijni 
Novgorod, and finding about two hundred thousand persons 
quartered in a town that ordinarily had a population of less 
than twenty thousand, and ascertaining that they had a sys- 
tem of computing the population by requiring the bakers to 
give an account of the number of loaves of bread sold each 
day, it having been discovered that a correct estimate could 
be made in this way, I could see how the paschal lambs sold 
might show with tolerable accuracy how many persons were 
present. 

One thing was clear to me: there was no impediment in the 
way of the extension of the city to the north; and if it were 
said that the city once had a population as large as Vienna or 
Paris, or even London, no presumption could be drawn 
against it from the fact of the configuration of the eastern and 
southern boundaries, while the north admitted of indefinite 
expansion. To this day all over the ground for miles lie 
numerous ruins and cisterns. 



35 8 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 
Outside the Walls of Jerusalem. 

The Valleys of Gihon and Hinnom — Pool of Siloam — Fountain of the Vir- 
gin — Valley of the Kidron — Garden of Gethsemane — Tomb of the Virgin 
— Mount of Olives — View from the Summit — Tombs of the Kings — Tomb 
and Grotto of Jeremiah — Walls and Gates of the City. 

Rising early, the morning after our arrival, we made a short 
excursion into the city, securing an accomplished guide and 
taking our bearings so as to be able to make estimates of the 
relative importance of various parts of the city to our primary 
purpose. I had resolved to comprehend fully Jerusalem as it 
is; to see it from every point of view and in every mood of 
which I am capable; to be, while there, the amateur explorer, 
the enthusiastic historian, the devoted antiquarian, the ardent 
believer, the cautious skeptic, the son of Abraham, the Gentile, 
the Mohammedan, without forgetting that I am a Christian 
and an American : for after reading uncounted books on 
travels in the Holy Land, and listening to many lectures upon 
Jerusalem, I had never been able to obtain a clear under- 
standing of it, either as it was or as it is. 

To the effort I was the more moved by meeting on our 
arrival a gentleman who had sailed from Port Said with us, 
and had reached Jerusalem twenty-four hours before. He 
was disgusted with the city and exclaimed: "There is nothing 
to see; it is the most abominable place I have ever seen; I 
shall not stay another night." To this resolution he adhered. 
He was a professional man, yet, being unacquainted with the 
Bible, and not familiar with the history of the country, he 
could see only what he brought with him — practically nothing. 

Starting from our hotel, we descended into the valley of 
Gihon, where Solomon was crowned king, and walked along it 
until we came to the wall, on which was an old aqueduct that 
formerly conveyed water from the Pools of Solomon to the 
temple. The Pool of Gihon remains, five hundred and ten feet 



Outside the Walls of Jerusalem. 361 

long, two hundred and ten wide, and apparently forty deep. 
This pool must not be confounded with the Pools of Solomon, 
which are more than two hours' ride from the city. 

When the valley of Gihon turns eastward it becomes the 
awful Hinnom, which was a part of the boundary line be- 
tween Judah and Benjamin. This is the most infamous de- 
pression in the world. When Solomon became an idolater, it 
was on the brow of the hill which forms one of the sides of 
this valley that he built places of sacrifice to false gods. 
Joshua determined to make the ravine a cesspool; all the 
offal of the city was poured into it, and there a fire burned con- 
stantly, whence came the name Gehenna. It was a hell ever 
before the people, whose smoke ascended day and night. 
Here no traveler would have difficulty in perceiving whence 
the Hebrew prophets obtained many of their terrible figures. 
Let him descend, as we did, into the depths of the valley of Ge- 
henna, clamber along its sides, view them from the opposite 
point; let the eye take in the tombs, the crooked fig and olive 
trees growing among the crags, the wall on the summit; let 
him gaze into the various caverns, crevices, and excavations. 
Some locate within this chasm the Field of Blood, purchased 
with the money that Judas received for betraying Christ. 
Others have concocted the myth, that when the disciples all 
forsook him and fled, they came and hid themselves in a cer- 
tain tomb called the Apostles' Cavern. One cave, peculiarly 
fitted to tragedy and the concealment of treasure or hunted, 
terrified human being, is now used as a stable. Here were 
buried the pilgrims of the Middle Ages who died in Jerusalem. 

As we left the valley of Hinnom, we came to the rill 
described by Bishop Heber as "cool Siloam's shady rill," 
and by Milton as " Siloa's brook, that flowed fast by the oracle of 
God," and by Isaiah as "the waters of Shiloah that go softly." 
We followed the stream to the Pool of Siloam, fifty-three feet 
long, eighteen broad, and nineteen deep. It is never full, the 
stream that flows into it from the Virgin's Fountain flowing 
directly through it, water being retained to the depth of two 
or three feet. 

Thither Jesus sent the blind man, saying to him : " Go, wash 
in the Pool of Siloam." 



362 Travels in Three Continents. 

The Fountain of the Virgin is artificial, and when we were 
there the women of Siloam were carrying water from it in 
stone jars. We descended the sixteen steps, walked four yards 
to the second flight of thirteen, which conducted us to the 
water. The basin is about eleven feet square. All these hills 
are penetrated by ancient aqueducts and passages. Professor 
Robinson crept from the Fountain of the Virgin through an 
aqueduct to the Pool of Siloam; others have done so since; but 
after going a few feet, we concluded to accept their report. 

The valley of Kidron has had many names. The word 
means the " black brook." In the time of our Lord it was 
called the winter brook, and by the Jews considered unclean. 
It is now spoken of as the valley of Jehoshaphat. According 
to tradition there was a prophecy that this is to be the scene 
of the last judgment. The Mohammedans, believing this, 
bury their dead on the east side of the Haram, and the Jews 
inter theirs on the west side of the Mount of Olives. At the 
resurrection the slopes of the valley are expected to move 
farther apart, in order to make room for the great assembly. 
The Mohammedan notion is that a thin wire rope will be 
stretched across to the Mount of Olives, Christ and Mohammed 
sitting on the opposite mounts as judges. There will be two 
blasts blown by the Angel Gabriel; the first will kill every 
living being, and the second will awake the dead. Every 
human being must pass over the rope; the angels will keep 
the righteous steady, and they will move with lightning speed; 
but the wicked will fall into hell. 

As we passed through this valley we came to the alleged 
tombs of Zechariah, St. James, and Absalom. Absalom's 
is large and square, and has several fine columns; that of 
St. James is cut out of the rock, and has two Doric columns 
with several other ornaments. It is wholly uncertain whether 
there is any truth in the claim, and there is nothing remark- 
able about the tombs. 

The generally accepted site of the Garden of Gethsemane 
includes about a third of an acre, surrounded by a thick hedge 
with a wall. The Franciscan monks control it, but though the 
gate is kept locked there is no difficulty in obtaining permis- 
sion to enter. Seven or eight olive trees, about nineteen feet 



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The Brook Kidron. 



Outside the Walls of Jerusalem. 365 

in circumference, grow there, and it is quite possible that 
they sprung from the roots of those that were standing in 
the time of the apostles; besides these there are several 
beautiful young olive trees, and the monks cultivate flowers, 
which give the garden a pleasant look. On the inner walls 
is a series of colored reliefs portraying scenes in the life 
of Jesus, while inside is a passage with fourteen places for 
prayer. 

The account in the New Testament says: "Jesus . . . 
went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where 
was a garden, into the which he entered." The identity of the 
brook being established, the configuration of the country 
makes it almost certain that this must be the exact spot, or 
near it. The tradition agrees so well with the Bible narrative 
that there is little dispute. 

The monks attempt to point out where important events 
took place. A rock immediately east of the door is supposed 
to mark the spot where Peter, James, and John slept while 
our Lord prayed. A few paces to the south, they told us, is 
where Judas betrayed his Lord with a kiss. 

The olive oil produced from the trees brings a high price, 
and the monks manufacture rosaries from the olive stones. 

The Greek Church claims that this is not the true site, and 
exhibits the "true " Garden of Gethsemane a short distance 
farther toward the summit. 

We turned to the left of the valley of the Kidron to see the 
Tomb of the Virgin. The Greeks claim that this is the old- 
est Christian church in the world. Every morning, from seven 
to eight, a service is held, and during the festivals the building 
is open to visitors from morning to night. Unquestionably 
there was a church here in the fourth century, which continued 
until the fifth, but was destroyed by the Persians; neverthe- 
less, when the city of Jerusalem was captured by the Moham- 
medans they found "another church of Gethsemane." This 
edifice is supposed to stand over the tomb, according to the 
general custom in oriental lands. 

With the exception of the porch, the entire building is under- 
ground. The visitor descends by forty-seven marble steps; 
when twenty-two have been passed, the entrance to a side 



366 Travels in Three Continents. 

chapel on the right is reached, in which are two altars and the 
tombs of Joachim and Anna, the father and mother of the 
Virgin Mary. Another chapel contains the alleged tomb of 
Joseph, the husband of Mary. The supposed tombs of her 
father and mother were in the Church of St. Ann until the 
third or fourth century. The known antiquity of the church 
inspires reverence even in those who doubt whether any of the 
persons were originally buried there or whether any of their 
relics exist. 

Sometimes the Mount of Olives has been described as re- 
sembling one of the Alps. Other writers, content with sim- 
ply giving its height, have made an equally misleading im- 
pression. Its highest point is twenty-seven hundred and 
twenty-three feet above the level of the sea; at its center it 
is about ninety feet lower. When we consider that the highest 
elevation in the city of Jerusalem is twenty-five hundred and 
fifty feet, and that the temple itself is twenty-four hundred 
and forty-one feet above the level of the sea, the central point 
of the Mount of Olives can only be one hundred and ninety- 
six feet higher than the temple plateau. But it must be re- 
membered that the valley of the Kidron, five hundred feet 
deep, exceedingly steep, not more than a hundred feet in 
greatest width at the bottom, intervenes between Jerusalem 
and the mount. This produces the effect of much loftier 
height than exists, besides requiring a precipitous descent and 
a laborious ascent either going to the Mount of Olives from 
Jerusalem or returning to the city. From the Tomb of the 
Virgin to the top of Olivet did not require a walk of more 
than twenty minutes. 

The base of the mountain is limestone, its surface not being 
very irregular, though not destitute of depressions. It was 
fresh with the grass and flowers of spring. The olive, fig, 
and carob trees were in leaf, and there were a few pines and 
hawthorns. The paths are stony, and the climb in the after- 
noon sun was exhausting on account of the peculiar quality 
of the heat. Indeed, pedestrianism in that country is much 
more fatiguing than at the same temperature in Europe or the 
United States. 

To obtain the best impression ascents are necessary at 




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Outside the Walls of Jerusalem. 369 

different hours of the day. The names applied to the mount 
are noteworthy. It is the " Mount of Olives " in Zechariah; in 
other parts of the Old Testament, "the ascent to the Olives," 
"the mount facing Jerusalem," "the mount which is on the 
east side of the city; " in the New Testament, the " Mount of 
Olives," the "mount called the Mount of Olives," and the 
" mount called Olivet." 

From the Mount of Olives Christ began the triumphal pro- 
cession when a great multitude cried, " Hosanna to the Son of 
David ! " Upon the Mount of Olives he sat when his disciples 
came to him and asked what should be the sign of his coming, 
and of the end of the world. He stood on the slope of this 
mountain and wept over the city; and it is generally believed 
that he ascended from the Mount of Olives, though the two 
accounts given by St. Luke of the ascension -do not seem to 
agree as to place. Luke (xxiv, 50, 51) says: "And he led 
them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, 
and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed 
them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." 
But in the first chapter of the Book of Acts it is stated that the 
apostles, after having continued to gaze up into heaven for a 
time, and being addressed by the angels, returned "unto 
Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jeru- 
salem a Sabbath day's journey. " 

This is but a slight discrepancy when we consider that 
Bethany is only fifteen minutes' walk from the top of the 
Mount of Olives. It is not steep on that side; it is in the 
highest degree possible that the apostles and our Lord were 
walking as they conversed, and that the ascension did not 
take place in the village of Bethany, but in the suburbs toward 
the Mount of Olives. Hence, in view of the nature of the 
country, they would be spoken of as returning from the Mount 
of Olives. If so, Luke's observation in the gospel may mean 
that Christ led the apostles out to the Mount of Olives by the 
Bethany road. It is believed that the entire summit of the 
mountain was, in Christ's time, covered with buildings. There 
were many monasteries upon it when Jerusalem was taken by 
the Mohammedans. At present, among the buildings on the 
Mount of Olives, is the Church of the Ascension, which is sup- 



37° Travels in Three Continents. 

posed to mark the site, there being near it a cave which 
tradition declares was frequented by Jesus for the purpose of 
teaching his disciples the mysteries of his doctrines. 

The Russians have erected a tower from which is the finest 
view. Toward the east I saw the Dead Sea. It appeared near, 
but was many miles away and nearly four thousand feet be- 
low. Beyond the sea is a chain of mountains in the territory 
allotted to Reuben, and among them, though not positively 
identified, is Nebo. To the east and north are the moun- 
tains of Moab and Gilead and the valley of the Jordan, the 
dark green of whose vegetation contrasts strongly with the 
barren limestone hills on every side; Gibeah, where Saul was 
born; Ramah, the birthplace of Samuel; and Mizpah, the 
lonely mountain peak, his burial place; Nob, mentioned in the 
Old Testament from the earliest times; and the valley of the 
Kidron, extending almost from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. 

At our right was the hill Scopus, over which Titus led his 
forces; immediately beneath, the Garden of Gethsemane and 
the valley of the Kidron until its intersection with that of 
Hinnom; and opposite, rising out of the sheer abyss, Jeru- 
salem, its sacred hills easily distinguished, its walls, gates, 
minarets, towers, domes, making an imposing view, the only 
one worthy of the fame of the city. When Lieutenant Lynch, 
to whom modern exploration owes so much, coining from his 
explorations in the Jordan valley, obtained a glimpse of the 
city, no language could describe the impression which this view 
made upon him. A noted traveler, who speaks disparagingly 
of the view from the north, west, and south — and not unjustly 
— declares that no one can be disappointed who first looks 
upon Jerusalem from the east. 

Those who have visited London know that it is impossible 
to realize the grandeur of St. Paul's without leaving the mass 
of buildings which surround it, and viewing it from across the 
Thames. The cathedral at Cologne seems more imposing a 
half a mile up the Rhine than in the city. So is it with a num- 
ber of the finest buildings in Jerusalem, notably the Mosque of 
Omar. 

Descending from the Mount of Olives, and proceeding 
to the northwest around the city walls, the Tombs of the 



Outside the Walls of Jerusalem. 373 

Kings were reached. They were carefully constructed, and are 
genuine rock tombs, but improved externally by skillful archi- 
tectural constructions. There is no evidence that they existed 
prior to the Roman period, or that they ever had any connec- 
tion with Old Testament characters or times. More interest- 
ing are the Tombs of the Judges, but everything which relates 
them to the remote past is mythical; even the legends are of 
recent origin. 

The tomb and grotto of Jeremiah consist of a series of rock 
tombs, cisterns, and other curious antiquities in the possession 
of the Mohammedans, who maintain a sanctuary. Having 
passed through a yard containing fruit trees, broken pieces of 
columns, and other ruins suggestive of earthquake and siege, 
we came to the caverns, which are more than a hundred feet 
long, and were used hundreds of years ago as a retreat for 
Mohammedan monks. It is such a place as a gloomy prophet 
might desire in which to meditate. As w r e entered what is 
called the Tomb of Jeremiah, and in which he is said to have 
written his Lamentations, we were saluted by the sonorous 
bray of a donkey. 

In the neighborhood are subterranean quarries of unknown 
depth and equally unknown date. So vast are the excavations 
that it is not improbable that they were begun before the time 
of Solomon, and that the stones used in the temple, which were 
prepared so that there was neither hammer nor noise of any 
tool heard in the house while it was building, were quarried 
and polished here. It was but a few hundred yards back to 
the point of departure, the Jaffa Gate. 

In this tour around the outskirts of Jerusalem we were con- 
stantly within sight of the city wall, the entire length of which 
is a little over two miles and a half. The average height is 
thirty-eight and a half feet, and above it rise thirty-four 
towers. These were undoubtedly built before gunpowder 
and cannon came into use. In the wall are seven gates. 
The Jaffa was but two hundred yards from our hotel. The 
Arabs call it the Gate of Hebron, as all travelers to Hebron 
pass through it. This is the only gate opening to the "west." 
On the "north" is the Damascus Gate, irregular, having 
several pinnacles, and known as the " Gate of the Columns," 
20 



374 Travels in Three Continents. 

from slender columns covered by a gable. It is the custom of 
travelers to listen for the rushing of an ancient water course 
beneath the gate, which at certain seasons can be plainly 
heard. This is the only really handsome gate in Jerusalem. 
Herod's Gate is between the northeast corner of the wall and 
the Damascus Gate; has been known as the Gate of Herod 
only about two hundred years, and for fifteen years had been 
kept closed, but is now opened for a few months in each year. 
The road to Samaria and Damascus leads through the Da- 
mascus Gate, and the path to Olivet and Bethany through 
the Gate of the Tribes, otherwise known as St. Stephen's. 
The Gate of the Western Africans, which has another name 
indicating the fact that the offal of the city is carried out 
through it, is also on the south; the road passing through it 
leads to the village of Silwan. The Zion Gate, or "Gate 
of the Prophet David," near the alleged site of David's tomb, 
and the Golden Gate complete the seven. The Golden Gate 
has long since been walled up by the Mohammedans on ac- 
count of the tradition held among the Christians that when 
the Saviour returns to earth a second time he will make his 
entry into Jerusalem through this gate and take the city from 
the followers of the Prophet. Another tradition is that it is 
the Beautiful Gate of the temple, where Peter and John healed 
the lame man; but there is no ground for this belief. Another 
tradition says that Christ entered the city through this gate 
on Palm Sunday; accordingly the Crusaders opened it for a 
few hours on that day, and the patriarch rode upon an ass, 
while the people spread their garments along the road. 

Within these walls is inclosed the modern city of Jerusalem. 




IK* 



The Sacred Places. 377 



CHAPTER XLVII. 
The Sacred Places. 

The Haram Esh-Sherif — Herod's Temple — Mosque of Omar — Mosque EI- 
Aksa — Wailing Place of the Jews — Via Dolorosa — Church of the Holy 
Sepulcher — Identity of Site. 

The Haram Esh-Sherif is in the southeast quarter of the 
modern town, surrounded by walls in which are eight gates. 
The moment we entered our attention was attracted by two 
edifices of imposing aspect on the summit of Mount Moriah, 
which many believe to be the spot where Abraham offered up 
Isaac, but this belief is not universal among scholars. Prob- 
ably very near this spot David erected an altar, and the evi- 
dence that Solomon built the temple here is almost conclusive, 
though some place it in the southwest and others in the south- 
east corner. 

Many suppose that the temple stood in the very center, 
elevated above the surrounding ground upon foundations con- 
structed for that purpose. Not a trace can be discovered of 
the second temple erected by the Jews after their return from 
captivity. 

I examined the ruins of Herod's temple. On the south side 
are massive foundations, and in every direction underground 
excavations have proved that walls existed. Disputes have 
arisen and continue concerning the site of Solomon's Porch, of 
which John says: "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the 
dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple 
in Solomon's porch." 

This temple, one of the most magnificent works, adorned 
with plates of gold, was protected by a castle to the north, 
from which Titus watched the destruction of the building, 
over which he is said to have expressed regret. The columns 
the Jews had already destroyed, but the foundations remain. 

So bitter was the animosity between Christians and Jews 
that when Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Mohammedans, 



6/' 



Travels in Three Continents. 



and the Caliph Omar requested the patriarch to conduct him 
to the spot where the Temple of Solomon stood, he found it 
covered with rubbish, which the Christians had scattered in 
contempt of the Jews. Till forty years ago both Jews and 
Christians were excluded from this whole territory, few excep- 
tions being made. Since then no serious obstruction has been 
placed in the way of properly accredited explorers. 

Mohammedan traditions are numerous. The Koran declares 
that God conveyed the prophet from the Temple El-Haram, in 
Mecca, "to the most distant temple whose precincts we have 
blessed " — that is, the Mosque El-Aksa within this quadrangle 
— and because Mohammed claims to have been here in person 
the Mohammedans consider it the holiest of all places after 
Mecca. 

The Mosque of Omar, built over the rock and often spoken 
of as the Dome of the Rock, is a splendid building, octagonal 
in shape, each side being sixty-six feet long, having gates fac- 
ing each of the points of the compass. On entering I gazed 
about me with awe. The light came dimly through thirty-six 
stained-glass windows, when suddenly the sun, emerging from 
a cloud, lighted up the dreadful gloom which oppressed the 
mind and pained the eye, and the long cloisters appeared. We 
stood upon a pavement of elegant marble mosaic, and above 
us rose a dome to a height of ninety feet, having a diameter 
of sixty-six feet. The walls are covered with tiles of every 
hue, of priceless value, and the frieze consists of tiles which 
bear written inscriptions from the Koran. Below these, which 
were laid three hundred years ago, the building was covered 
with marble. 

Inscriptions in the building definitely state the issue between 
Mohammedanism and Christianity. These are specimens: 
"The Messiah, Jesus, is only the Son of Mary, the Embas- 
sador of God and his Word which he deposited in Mary. 
Believe, then, in God and his Embassador, and do not main- 
tain that there are three." " Praise be to God who has had 
no son or companion in his government, and who requires no 
helper to save him from dishonor; praise him! " 

But beyond everything else in interest is the Holy Rock. 
From early times the Jews have believed that Melchizedek and 




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The Sacred Places. 38 r 

Abraham offered sacrifices here. The Ark of the Covenant 
stood here, and it is believed to have been hidden by Jere- 
miah, and to be buried beneath the rock. For ages it was 
thought to be the central point of the world, and on it was writ- 
ten the great and unspeakable name of God. It is fifty-seven 
feet long and forty-three wide, and rises six and a half feet 
above the pavement. The Mohammedan notion is that it 
hovers over an abyss without support. Descending to the 
cavern we found that there are various supports, but ''the 
earth rings hollow from below. " 

The guide showed us the spots where David, Solomon, 
Abraham, and Elijah were in the habit of praying. Accord- 
ing to the Prophet one prayer made in that spot is worth 
a thousand elsewhere. The claim is that after Mohammed 
had prayed he was translated to heaven riding on the back 
of his famous steed, El-Burak. As he went by the di- 
rectest route, he knocked a hole in the ceiling, which is still 
pointed out. They affirm that the rock opened its mouth, 
and so a tongue is depicted over the entrance. Another thing 
they tell is that the rock made desperate efforts to follow 
Mohammed to heaven, to prevent which the angel Gabriel 
held it down,- the prints of his hands being plainly visible! 
The greatest legendary curiosity is a slab of jasper set in the 
ground in front of the northern entrance. It is alleged that 
Mohammed drove nineteen golden nails into this; at the end 
of every great epoch one nail falls out, and the day of judg- 
ment will come when the last nail is gone. The time must be 
near, for the devil succeeded in surreptitiously destroying all 
the nails but three and a half. The angel Gabriel interfered 
at that point. I saw that there are but three and a half nails 
left, and what better proof of the truth of the w T hole story 
could one desire? Ancient copies of the Koran, hairs from the 
beard of Mohammed, and other curiosities may be seen, but 
not touched: 

The Mosque El-Aksa is also a notable building, but is not 
connected with either Jewish or Christian antiquities. "Sol- 
omon's Stables" are singular, being within the precincts of 
the Haram, and consisting of vaults twenty-seven feet high, 
standing on a hundred square piers. Whether they date from 



3S2 Travels in Three Continents. 

the time of Solomon ma}?- well be doubted; but, as his palace 
■was near here, "they may have been built upon the ruins of 
his stables." From the walls of the Haram imposing views 
are obtained. 

On leaving the Haram we went direct to the wailing place 
of the Jews, the most melancholy spot in this melancholy 
city. Against this old wall, regardless of the weather, Jews 
lean, and from time to time kiss the stones and burst into un- 
controllable weeping. Here Jews of all nations assemble; on 
Friday especially and on festival days the number is great. 
Here they lament over the calamities which have befallen 
them, and their litany is so beautiful, and expresses so fully 
their spirit, that I give a specimen : 

Leader. For the place that lies desolate : 

Response. We sit in solitude and mourn. 

L. For the palace that is destroyed : 

R. We sit in solitude and mourn. 

L. For the walls that are overthrown : 

R. We sit in solitude and mourn. 

L. For our majesty that is departed : 

R. We sit in solitude and mourn. 

L. For our great men who lie dead : 

R. We sit in solitude and mourn. 

L. For the precious stones that are burned : 

R. We sit in solitude and mourn. 

L. For the priests who have stumbled : 

R. We sit in solitude and mourn. 

L. For our kings who have despised him : 

R. We sit in solitude and mourn. 

The most profoundly interesting object in Jerusalem is the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We approached it through the 
Via Dolorosa, "The Way of Grief." Leaving the Garden of 
Gethsemane, crossing the valley of the Kidron, and ascending 
the hill, we came to St. Stephen's Gate. The iron doors are 
open; the guard who stands there is ready to exhibit, for a 
small fee, a footprint of Christ. Once within the gate we cast 
a glance at the Church of St. Anne, which was presented to 
Napoleon III by the Sultan at the close of the Crimean War. 
It is an old Crusader's church, in good preservation, and under 
French protection. The Chapel of the Scourging did not de- 




Wa'ling Place of the Jews. 



The Sacred Places. 385 

tain us, for the event commemorated has been located in so 
many different places that we had lost interest in the unim- 
portant question of the site, while more than ever impressed 
by the fact. Beneath the altar in this chapel is a hole where 
the "Column of the Scourging" is said to have stood. 

At the entrance to the Turkish barracks begins the trad- 
itional route over which Christ bore his cross to the place of 
his crucifixion. It puzzles one to decide how much to say of 
the myths, legends, conjectures, reasonings, and positive state- 
ments of often conflicting authorities, with which this whole 
region is covered as deep as the original sites must be by the 
debris of successive destructions. 

As our Lord was taken from the Pretorium, the route must 
depend upon its location; but about the spot there has been 
endless dispute. In the early Crusades it was placed in the 
upper part of the town, on the west hill. Afterward it came 
to be believed that the Turkish barracks, on the site of the Cas- 
tle of Antonio, are where the Pretorium stood. When that de- 
cision was made, the so-called "holy steps," of which much is 
made in Rome, were taken to the Church of St. John Lateran 
in that city. Though hundreds of Jews and pilgrims annually 
walk and weep along this route, from every Catholic and 
Greek country, it has been established only a few hundred 
years. We paused at each station, skeptical as to their ac- 
curacy, but not destitute of sympathy with the pilgrims, nor 
without reverence for thoughts awakened by a comparison of 
the Gospel narrative with the announcements. 

The first regular station is in the chapel of the Turkish bar- 
racks, it being claimed that it occupies the site of Pilate's 
Judgment Hall. The next, a few steps distant, is that of the 
binding of the cross upon the shoulders of Christ. A little 
farther is an arch, not one of the regular stations, known by 
the name of the " Ecce Homo " Arch, and also Arch of 
Pilate. When Jesus came forth wearing the crown of thorns 
and the purple robes, Pilate said, "Behold the Man;" this 
arch, they say, was erected to mark that spot. It is believed 
that this is a Roman structure of the time of Hadrian. The 
third station is indicated by a broken column. The prepon- 
derance of sentiment connects it with our Lord's sinking 



$86 Travels in Three Continents. 

under the weight of the cross. The fourth station is fixed at 
the place where they teach that Christ met his mother. The 
fifth is where Simon the Cyrenian is said to have taken the 
cross from Christ. In the next house there is a stone built 
into the wall in which is an indentation asserted to have been 
produced by Christ's shoulder as he leaned against it to rest. 
The sixth station is near the tomb of St. Veronica. Her 
bust is carved in stone. This is the spot where she is alleged 
to have wiped the sweat from the Saviour's brow, and the 
miracle was wrought whereby his image was indelibly imprinted 
upon her handkerchief. In the Garden of Gethsemane one 
of the pictures represents that fanciful scene in a frightfully 
realistic manner, St. Veronica being shown in the picture hold- 
ing up her handkerchief with his face upon it. The seventh is 
known as the Porta Judiciaria. The eighth is placed where 
Jesus said to the women: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep 
not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." 
The ninth station represents Jesus as sinking again under 
the weight of the cross, notwithstanding Simon was at that 
time bearing it. 

We now reach the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, within 
which are the five remaining stations. Thomson remarks, in 
The Land and the Book: "That whole street, with all its 
sacred places, I give up at once, as no plausible evidence can 
be deduced for the identity of any of its stations. " Ancient 
traditions say that this church covers the site of our Saviour's 
crucifixion; but powerful considerations seem to prove that it 
does not. To-day an influential party of explorers, chiefly from 
the United States, are inclined to locate Golgotha outside the 
present city walls, near the Tomb of Jeremiah. 

We visited the spot and compared it with the Bible narra- 
tive. The Scriptures plainly say that Jesus was crucified out- 
side the city. John says: "He . . . went forth into a place 
called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew 
Golgotha." Then follows a description of the title which 
Pilate put upon the cross, and the gospel says: "This title 
then read many of the Jews; for the place where Jesus was 
crucified was nigh to the city." The Epistle to the Hebrews 
says that " He suffered without the gate." 




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The Sacred Places. 389 

The bulk of evidence shows that the present Church of the 
Holy Sepulcher is outside the second wall, and therefore out- 
side the city in New Testament times. From the year 326 the 
uniform tradition of the Christian Church has been that this- is 
the spot. It was based on the history of the Empress Helena, 
the mother of Constantine, who came to Jerusalem when she 
was seventy-nine years old, to find the true cross. The legend 
is that she had definite instructions where to dig. The 
place was covered with rubbish by the heathen, but after long 
digging three similar crosses were found at the bottom of a 
cave. Macarius, the Bishop of Jerusalem, laid two crosses on 
the sick, which did not make them a whit the better; but when 
the third was applied to a woman supposed to be at the point 
of death she was immediately healed. That settled the identity 
of the cross, and at the same time the Holy Sepulcher was dis- 
covered. This is certain, that from 326 till now there has 
been a continuous chain of belief that in this vicinity the holy 
events occurred, though the place of the finding of the crosses 
is not held to be identical with Golgotha. 

Dr. Robinson says: " In every view which I have been able 
to take, both topographical and historical, I am led irresistibly 
to the conclusion that Golgotha and the tomb now shown in 
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are not upon the real places 
of the crucifixion and the resurrection of our Lord." The ar- 
guments in favor of the site near the Tomb of Jeremiah are 
stated in a pamphlet by Fisher Howe. It is claimed that 
the isolated skull-shaped hill near the Tomb of Jeremiah, not 
far from the Damascus Gate, meets all the conditions. It 
was (i without the gate of Jerusalem, nigh unto the city, 
noticeably skull-shaped, near to one of the leading thorough- 
fares of the city, eminently conspicuous, nigh unto the gardens 
and sepulchers. " There are other points in the vicinity of 
Jerusalem which, with the exception of the resemblance of this 
point to a skull, answer these descriptions. Nor is it certain 
that the spot where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the 
tomb now are is precisely what it was at the time the events 
commemorated took place. 

Visitors to Jerusalem will find the advocates of the respec- 
tive theories of the location enthusiastic and positive; but the 



39° Travels in Three Continents. 

present site has nearly one thousand six hundred years priority 
of possession, and it is difficult to see how individual opinion, 
though strong or well-sustained by reasoning, will ever make a 
change in the general belief of the Christian world concerning 
the location. 

I entered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in a calm frame, 
determined to allow the scriptural narratives to have due 
weight and to observe what the monks had to say, as one might 
read a work of fiction founded on fact. Several visits are 
necessary to survey the situation intelligently. 

Services are progressing the greater part of the time, and 
the sound of solemn music falls upon the ear almost contin- 
uously, now loud and near, then soft and distant, and again 
reverberating, in tones of thunder, among the corridors, 
columns, and chapels. 

We entered through that part of the church under the con- 
trol of the Greeks. In the center is a hollow which shows 
the spot where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac. This 
has been the tradition for about one thousand three hundred 
years, before which it was located elsewhere. Not far from 
this spot is an Armenian Chapel, and next to that a Coptic 
Chapel of the Archangel Michael; gloomy places. The Greeks 
have built a chapel, which they call The Chapel of the Egyp- 
tian Mary, to commemorate the alleged fact that Mary, an 
Egyptian, endeavored to enter the church in 374, and some 
mysterious invisible power drove her away, but she prayed to the 
Virgin Mary, and was able to resist it. Mary Magdalene is 
honored by a chapel built upon the place where Christ ap- 
peared to her for the third time. 

The church and sepulcher extend from east to west; and 
the first object before which we paused was the Stone of 
Anointment. This, it is alleged, is the stone on which the 
body of Jesus lay when it was anointed by Nicodemus, accord- 
ing to the gospel of John. The stone has been moved sev- 
eral times; and the Copts, the Georgians, the Latins, and the 
Greeks respectively have owned it. The present is a com- 
paratively new stone. For ages the pilgrims measured the 
stone in order that they might have their winding sheets made 
of the same length! 



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The Sacred Places. 



393 



For a few centuries the Chapel of the Syrians has been rep- 
resented to be above the tombs of Joseph of Arimathea and 
Nicodemus. Chapels are built to commemorate almost every 
event in the Gospel history. 




Interior of the Holy Sepulcher. 

The Holy Sepulcher is in the center of the rotunda beneath 
the dome. We approached through the Angel's Chapel, a 
vestibule five or six paces long. In the center is the stone (?) 



394 Travels in Three Continents. 

which the angel rolled away from the mouth of the sepulcher, 
and on which he sat; it ; s set in marble. Fifteen lamps con- 
stantly burn in this chapel, five belonging to the Greeks, five 
to the Latins, four to the Armenians, and one to the Copts. 
The Chapel of the Sepulcher, to which this vestibule leads, is 
so small that only three or four can enter at once. Forty- 
three lamps hang there. The Armenians, Greeks, and Latins 
having thirteen each, the Copts the remainder. The roof is 
supported by marble columns; every day mass is celebrated, 
and the marble tombstone used as an altar. Since for a thou- 
sand years the natural surface has been covered with marble, 
no opportunity has been given for the critical examination of 
modern scholars as to whether there is any probability that a 
tomb exists. The chief chapel of the Roman Catholics, every- 
where in the East called the Latins, is that of the Apparition. 
There is a chapel in honor of Saint Longinus, erected by the 
Greeks; but the Latins will not pause before it in their solemn 
processions. Longinus is claimed to be the soldier who pierced 
Jesus' side, the myth saying that he had been blind in one 
eye, but when the blood and water reached that eye he re- 
covered sight, whereupon he repented and became a Christian. 
The Chapel of the Finding of the Cross is recent. In one of 
the chapels is an altar dedicated to the memory of the penitent 
thief, and it was believed, down to within eighty years, that the 
columns of this chapel shed tears. The Chapel of Adam is 
supposed to be over his burial place, but an old tradition run- 
neth to the effect that when the Saviour's blood trickled 
through the cleft in the rock it restored Adam to life. 

Previous to the time of the Crusaders there was a chapel 
over Calvary, but since it has been included within the church. 
The site of our Lord's crucifixion is covered by the Chapel of 
the Raising of the Cross. The sites of the crosses of the 
thieves are in the corners of the outer space, only five feet 
from the cross of Christ. A cleft in the rock is exhibited, 
six inches deep, covered with a brass slide. Matthew (xxvii, 
51) says: "The earth did quake ; and the rocks were rent."' 
All kind of extravagant stories have been told about this cleft; 
one that it reaches to the center of the earth. 



Bethlehem and the Convent of Mar Saba. 395 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 
Bethlehem and the Convent of Mar Saba. 

An Ancient Guide — "A Vain Thing for Safety" — Tomb of Rachel — Situa- 
tion and History of Bethlehem — Birthplace ol Christ — Church of the Na- 
tivity — Tomb of St. Jerome — The Weird Convent of Mar Saba — History — 
Rules of the Order of Monks. 

In Jerusalem arrangements had been made to secure an ex- 
cellent guide, and a fine outfit of horses and accouterments for 
a journey to the principal objects accessible in a few days' 
ride from the city. At the last moment we were disappointed. 
The demand for horses for more extensive tours, and for our 
guide, who had had a previous engagement contingent upon 
the arrival of a party, which had lost its connections by being 
carried unexpectedly from Jaffa to Beyroot, compelled us to 
take what was left. Our guide, therefore, was an ancient man, 
Moses, a Jew of long — altogether too long — experience in 
Palestine, Turkey, Armenia, and other parts of the oriental 
world. He had a good reputation as a man, but was too nearly 
wornout for the work. 

With one exception the horses were such as in America 
would be employed in carting ashes. Of these the guide had 
the least bad, Dr. Bancroft the next, and the animal upon 
which I was placed would by contrast have made the reputa- 
tion of Don Quixote's " Rozinante" as a noble specimen of the 
genus equus. He was an incomprehensible beast — not fat, 
yet so broad across the back that my legs were much nearer 
being at right angles with the trunk than parallel with each 
other. The saddle thus projected the flaps in such a way that 
they cut like knives into the calves. But this was not the 
worst. The animal's motion was neither trot, canter, walk, 
pace, nor "single foot; " the St. Vitus's dance alone can give 
an adequate conception of it. Moreover, he stopped at inter- 
vals of about two hundred yards. If whipped, he threw back 
his ears, and pawed the ground. If not whipped, he looked 



396 Travels in Three Continents. 

around, as if to say, "If you are pleased, I am; if not, help 
yourself if you can." 

The guide and Dr. Bancroft were soon out of sight. In 
despair of overtaking them if I remained on the horse's back, I 
dismounted to pull him along. He then refused to stand to 
be mounted. I took him by the tail and by the bridle at the 
same time, and jumped into the stirrup. This seemed to con- 
fuse his understanding, for while he was gathering himself for 
battle a posteriori, his attention was diverted to his head. The 
next struggle was caused by his mutiny at a bridge. Over 
this I led him, thinking of Mr. Pickwick's words under similar 
circumstances: "It is like a dream, a hideous dream! The 
idea of a man's walking about all day with a dreadful horse 
that he cannot get rid of." By this time I felt that the only 
thing left was to master that horse, and as relief to my feel- 
ings, after I had succeeded in mounting again, I stood up in 
the saddle and stimulated him. He made strenuous efforts to 
unseat me, but, failing in this, started to run. Each leap 
threatened to dislocate every joint in my body, but it took 
only ten minutes of this misery to bring me in sight of the 
guide and Dr. Bancroft. We held a council of war, and de- 
cided that as the only man who was making money out of the 
trip was Moses, he should trade horses. He did not in words 
object, but, in a few minutes after he bestrode the animal, 
gloomily observed to the doctor: "This horse will be the 
death of me." He was " a vain thing for safety, " and for travel 
not "an unthinking horse," but one that understood himself 
perfectly. 

The road to Bethlehem is delightful; the distance not more 
than seven miles. We went down into the valley of Gihon, 
then up the hill toward the southwest. Here is the tree on 
which Judas hanged himself! Our route then ran across an 
elevated plateau where David defeated the Philistines. The 
ascent is gradual; the air was clear and the sky as bright as 
that of Egypt. Beside this road an old ruin existed, which 
has recently been restored, and is declared to have been the 
house of Simeon. 

There is nothing so permanent in all Syria as wells, except 
the rock tombs; indeed, Stanley makes the tombs less 



Bethlehem and the Convent of Mar Saba. 397 

authentic than the wells. Accordingly, excellent authorities 
believe that the well which we passed on that road is the spot 
where the wise men saw the miraculous star in the east after 
they departed from the king. 

An amusing legend is that of the field of peas. It is to the 
effect that Christ, passing along, asked a laborer what he was 
sowing; he insolently replied, "Stones." The field, therefore, 
brought forth stone peas, some of which are to be seen on 
the spot — small, pea-shaped stones, of which millions of bush- 
els can be found in certain localities in the United States. 

By far the most interesting object is the Tomb of Rachel. 
This is one of the few points where the probability of correct- 
ness becomes almost a certainty. Rachel had come from 
Bethel on her way to Bethlehem. Gen. xxxv, 16 says: 
" There was but a little way to come to Ephrath." There her 
child was born, and there she died, and "was buried in the 
way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." Jacob set a pillar upon 
her grave; when the Pentateuch was written, that monument 
was described as " the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day," 
and the Jews through all their history so identified and 
revered it. There has never been any other tradition. Jews, 
Mohammedans, and Christians have united in the belief for a 
thousand years, and no Jew goes to Palestine without visiting 
this tomb, which was marked by a pyramid of stones. The only 
doubt raised is because of a passage in Samuel which locates 
the tomb of Rachel in the border of Benjamin. There is so 
much uncertainty about border lines, and the statements in 
Genesis are so explicit, that this does not overthrow the pre- 
sumption of the truth of the tradition. 

Bethlehem is on a long hill, twenty-five hundred and twenty- 
seven feet above the level of the sea, and there is great sim- 
ilarity between its situation and that of Jerusalem, except that 
the descent is more abrupt from the Holy City. The manu- 
facture of rosaries, crosses, images, and other religious objects 
is carried on extensively. We were constantly beset by natives 
with olive-wood rosaries strung above their heads and around 
their necks and arms. 

We are now at the scene of the beautiful story of Ruth, the 
great-erandmother of David. It was to Bethlehem that Samuel 



39^ Travels in Three Continents. 

was sent to make examination of the sons of Jesse to find 
whom the Lord had chosen. Among these hills, near by, 
David had kept his father's sheep, and there he slew the lion 
and the bear. 

The transcendent, unquestioned fact is that in Bethlehem 
Christ was born. The scene of this event is supposed to be 
within a mass of buildings known as the Church of the Nativity, 
and the Latin, Greek, and Armenian convents. This series of 
ecclesiastical edifices extends from west to east on the summit 
of the hill; nor did I see while in Palestine so imposing a 
spectacle of human creation. The Latin convent projects 
from the church to the northeast, the Greek to the southeast, 
and the Armenian to the southwest, while the village straggles 
to the westward. 

As we ascended the hill the venerable building towered like 
a fortification. Justin Martyr, in the second century, speaks 
of Christ's being born in a cavern near the village. Stables in 
Palestine — a rocky country, where wood is scarce — were usually 
caves or artificial excavations in the rocks. To this day it is 
so wherever the configuration of the country is favorable. 
Justin Martyr in the second, and Origen in the third century, 
make the same observation, and all the Apocryphal gospels so 
represent. 

This, of all the existing local traditions of Palestine, Stanley 
thinks, is the only one which indisputably reaches beyond the 
time of Constantine. Here Constantine erected a magnificent 
church, and the best critics maintain that the present church 
is the original structure. Cedars of Lebanon were used in the 
construction of the rafters, but in the time of Edward IV 
they were repaired by the use of English oaks, given by the 
king for the purpose. The presumption that this is the ori- 
ginal church is strengthened by the fact that, from the Middle 
Ages, in all the accounts given by pilgrims, there is "a re- 
markable unanimity regarding its situation and architecture." 

The church is simple in construction, ornamented by 
mosaics, most of which are now imperfect, and embellished 
with paintings from scriptural scenes, grand in effect, but 
badly mutilated. The five rows of marble columns of the 
Corinthian order are striking, and tradition alleges that they 



Bethlehem and the Convent of Mar Saba. 399 

once formed part of Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem. This is 
possibly true, because of the habit in the East of building 
columns from famous monumental edifices into new structures. 

Permission to use the nave is given to all sects, and for this 
reason it is neglected as to adornment, but interesting because 
" in all probability the most ancient monument of Christian 
architecture in the world. " Beneath the great choir is the crypt. 
By staircases we descend to the Chapel of the Nativity, and 
the spot is indicated by a silver star set in the marble pave- 
ment. This inscription is near : il Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus 
Christus Natus est" (Here of the Virgin Mary Jesus Christ was 
born). By three steps more we descended to the Chapel of the 
Manger,and an old tradition is that the original wooden manger 
was there discovered. It was supposed to be found and taken 
by the Empress Helena to Rome, deposited in the Church of 
St. Maria Maggiore, and at Christmas, with the authority of the 
pope, it is exhibited to reverent and curious crowds. 

All about were memorials of the Gospel history, and various 
altars— one devoted to the Magi, another to the shepherds, 
and another to Joseph — on the spot where they had adored 
the Holy Child, or received divine commands. I relinquished 
myself to the reverential emotions which the belief that I was 
in the spot where, the infant Saviour lay would naturally inspire 
in the heart of a Christian. 

The Chapel of the Tomb of St. Jerome receives much atten- 
tion from Christian pilgrims of every sect. He is the most 
eminent pilgrim to the cave of Bethlehem; "the only one of 
the many hermits and monks from the time of Constantine to 
the present day sheltered within its rocky sides, whose name 
has traveled beyond the limits of the Holy Land." He came 
from Rome to Syria, accompanied by Paula, a Roman lady, 
and her daughter, and retired to this cell where he remained 
alone for more than thirty years, producing letters, commen- 
taries, and the translation of the Bible still used in the Latin 
Church. In 420 he expired in this cell. Both Paula and her 
daughter were eminent for learning and piety, the mother 
becoming the head of a nunnery in Bethlehem, and dying 
within its walls. 

We ascended to the summits of the various monasteries, and 
21 






400 Travels in Three Continents. 

enjoyed the dissimilar and beautiful views. The sole reason 
why there are not more traditional sites in the Holy Land is 
that inventive genius cannot find names for them. They make 
nothing of showing the house in which Joseph lived and had 
his dream. 

There is a tradition, which dates at least from the year 620, 
concerning the place where the angels appeared to the shep- 
herds. We found the field inclosed by a wall, within which 
are some very fine olive trees. For centuries there was a 
church and monastery here. The ruins remaining are sup- 
posed to belong to the mediaeval Church of Gloria in Excelsis. 
The Grotto of the Shepherds, in which they are supposed 
to have dwelt, is fitted up as a church, and has been under 
the control of the Greeks since the time of the Crusades. I 
am sorry that there is not better authority for it, since the 
situation would harmonize well with the narratives. Moses, 
being a Hebrew of the Hebrews, had little to say; all he could 
do was to point out the place and give the name by which it 
is known. Obviously he did not believe there ever was any 
such vision. At the same time he thought that Christ was 
a Jew who was misunderstood by the people, and who failed 
to comprehend himself. 

We rode over the hills for about three hours to the Convent 
of Mar Saba. After the first hour, from an elevated hill, we 
took the last view of Bethlehem. Descending, we followed a 
path gloomy and barren; but, like many other desolate pros- 
pects, it was more terrible in the seeming than in the reality; 
for on approach the roughest places became comparatively 
smooth, the ascents and descents being gradual, and the path 
proving wide enough for safety. There was absolutely no 
population; not a human being to be seen hour after hour, 
except the Bedouin escort whom we were obliged to em- 
ploy; for in none of these excursions in the Holy Land is it 
safe to go without an officer. Our Bedouin w r as physically 
feeble, and carried the oldest specimen of a gun outside of 
a museum of antiquities; he represented, however, the Turk- 
ish government, and was a sufficient protection. 

The Convent of Mar Saba surpasses in weirdness anything 
imaginable. Not amid the ruins of Karnak or Philae, at 




Convent of Mar Saba. 



Bethlehem and the Convent of Mar Saba. 403 

the base or within the dark caverns of the Pyramids, was 
the sensation so peculiar as here. Women are never admit- 
ted. Years ago one accidentally passed the outer gate, caus- 
ing more consternation than would have been produced by the 
evil spirit. When ladies, ignorant of the rule, come with their 
friends, they are obliged to pass the night in a tower which 
stands upon a hill at some little distance. Above the gate 
rises another tower where is stationed a watchman, who sur- 
veys the expanse of mountains and ravines, on the alert to dis- 
cern hostile approach. This precaution is necessary to this day. 

One thousand three hundred years ago a settlement, known 
by the peculiar name of a Laura, was established here by St. 
Euthymius. Growing very wealthy, it was robbed from time 
to time, beginning with the Persian hordes of Chosroes in 614, 
which led to its being fortified; but it has been attacked 
several times, and as lately as 1834. It is now under the 
patronage of the Russian empire, and fifty years ago was en- 
larged and restored. On announcing that we desired to re- 
main over night, we were shown into a room capable of accom-* 
modating twelve persons. Fortunately there were no other 
strangers. A good meal was served, though the fastidious 
would have seen something to criticise in the not very cleanly 
attire of the monks who waited upon us. 

Human ingenuity never prepared another such place of abode. 
A series of houses has been constructed upon the ledges of 
the rock, and from the lowest point it appears as though dove- 
cots had been built in stories. Artificial battlements and but- 
tresses have been made, the foundation and inner wall in every 
case of natural rock. These are reached by labyrinths, pas- 
sages, and small courtyards, and every spot is occupied by the 
cells of the monks. "You see men walking upon these ledges 
of rock, and turning into these holes in the wall; and you 
look upon a little garden hanging in the air, as it seems, 
with a solitary palm tree looking wonderingly down into the 
chasm, in which are more buildings and chapels and cupo- 
las." Sixty-five or seventy monks dwell in the convent, be- 
sides a few lunatics, of whom they have charge. We visited all 
the terraces and entered into the sanctuary, originally a grot- 
to. Behind a grating were the skulls of martyrs slain by the 



404 Travels in Three Continents. 

Persians twelve hundred years ago. Moses, after conversation 
with the monks, described the rules of the order. Some in- 
variably arise to hold a service at 2 a. m. They fast much of 
the time, and when they eat have little besides vegetables. 
Not a human being resides in the neighborhood; so these men, 
deprived of the loving smile of wife, mother, daughter, sister, 
live on year after year, grow old and die; but are fain to 
make friends with the animal creation, taming the wild birds, 
that fly over the hills, so that they come and eat from the 
hands. The monks appeared to be industrious; every spot of 
earth is cultivated; and the convent is famous for its fine figs 
which, owing to the heat of the sun, ripen earlier than in the 
vicinity of Jerusalem. In the night we heard the music, but 
did not rise to attend their service. The library is famous, 
but the key is kept by the patriarch, in Jerusalem, and th6 
monks do not have access to it. 



Dead Sea, Jordan, Jericho, and Bethany. 405 



CHAPTER XLIX. 
The Dead Sea, The Jordan, Jericho, and Bethany. 

Wilderness of Engedi — Tomb of Moses — Beautiful Views — Peculiarities of 
the Dead Sea Explained — Pillars of Salt — The Jordan — Ancient Gilgal — 
Russian Pilgrims — Bethany — Tomb of Lazarus — Tower of David in Jeru- 
salem. 

At an early hour the next morning we began a ride of 
five hours to the Dead Sea. The way lay along the valley 
of the Kidron, several hundred feet precipitously beneath us. 
After a time we made the ascent, and on reaching the summit 
beheld the wilderness of Engedi stretched out before us. 
The heat was almost tropical, and more depressing than that 
of Egypt. Down the long slope we traveled, meeting occa- 
sionally a Bedouin who looked at us in a semi-savage way, and 
in sight upon the hills were three or four of these wanderers 
of the desert and the mountains. A mile and a half away to 
the left of the road rises the minaret of " Neby Musa, the 
Tomb of Moses." The Mohammedans pay no attention to 
the Bible narrative, and assign the tomb of the leader of Israel 
to this spot, to which they come annually in multitudes, but 
no Christian or Jew accompanies them. 

As we proceeded wonderful views burst upon us. Moab; 
which we had seen from the summit of the Mount of Olives, 
now appeared much nearer; the long valley of the Jordan, the 
region in which is Mount Nebo, and the supposed peak of 
Pisgah were in plain sight. Without these views it would 
have been tiresome to ride so long with the Dead Sea appar- 
ently but a few hundred yards from us — an optical illusion, 
which was increased by the irregular surface of the country. 

One pervaded with the prevalent ideas concerning Sodom 
and Gomorrah, on examining the Bible, would be astonished 
to find how little there is to support the notion that the Dead 
Sea was formed by the catastrophe that swallowed up those 
two cities, and that their ruins are submerged beneath its 
waters. 



406 Travels in Three Continents. 

We could survey almost the entire length of the Dead Sea 
from the shore, but obtained still better views from the sum- 
mits of the mountains. It is about forty-six miles long, 
and a little over ten miles wide. It is now known that the 
level of the Dead Sea is 1,293 feet below the surface of the 
Mediterranean, but up to sixty years ago no one knew that it 
was below it at all. The Dead Sea at its greatest depth is 
1,310 feet. Since Jerusalem is 2,494 feet above the level of 
the Mediterranean, that city, not more than fifteen miles away, 
is 3,787 feet above where we stood. 

The credit of resolving most of the doubts and difficulties 
and dissipating many of the superstitions formerly connected 
with this abyss belongs to the United States, which in 1848 
authorized an exploring expedition commanded by Lieutenant 
Lynch. He conveyed two metal boats from Acre to the Sea 
of Tiberias, and in them his party went down the Jordan, and 
spent twenty-two days cruising around the Dead Sea. 

In his report Lieutenant Lynch says that during a storm the 
heavy waters, nearly a sixth heavier than that of the ocean, 
"lashed the sides of his boats like hammers, " but the sub- 
sidence after the storm was much more rapid than of the 
waves in other waters. 

By the facts which they established it is easy to explain 
most of the peculiarities which before were perplexing. As 
the whole volume of the water of the Jordan, estimated at six 
million tons daily, is poured into it, and the sea has no outlet, 
the evaporation is extraordinarily rapid, and leaves the water 
full of mineral substances, especially salt, which is dissolved 
from the bank. About a quarter of the bulk of the sea con- 
sists of minerals, half being salt, which is extracted and sold in 
the markets of Jerusalem and elsewhere. The same process 
has been going on for ages at the Great Salt Lake in Utah. 

The ancient conceit that it is death to swim in the Dead Sea 
has been exploded. Dr. Robinson could swim nowhere else in 
salt or fresh water, but here found no difficulty in swimming 
or floating. A more modern fancy, that it is impossible to sink 
therein, has been dissipated by the experience of many travelers. 
Professor Henry M. Harman, a man of gigantic proportions, 
states in his Egypt and the Holy Land that he found no difficulty 




■^: 



i'f . 



Dead Sea, Jordan, Jericho, and Bethany. 409 

in sinking. Travelers often bathe in the Dead Sea, and Dr. 
Bancroft imitated the Mohammedan custom of washing his 
feet in its waters, but I was content to immerse my hands. 
The water left a peculiarly oily feeling. It is not true that 
the Dead Sea is the saltest water in the world. According to 
the scale given by Stanley, the purest of all water is rain 
water; then fresh- water lakes, the Baltic Sea, Sea of Azov; then 
the ocean, then the Mediterranean, then the Caspian and Aral, 
then the Dead Sea, and last the Lakes of Elton and Urumia. 

The Dead Sea contains neither shells nor coral, and fish 
placed in it soon die, though it is alleged that some inferior or- 
ganizations can be found. The representation that birds die 
if they attempt to fly over it is incorrect. Snipe, partridges, 
ducks, and nightingales live along its shores. The sides of 
the basin being perpendicular, the heat of the sun is almost 
unendurable, and there are few flowers or trees. 

The wildness of the region, the desolation of the shores, 
the greenish hue of the water contrasting with the blue of the 
more distant prospect, made a picture in viewing which one 
might easily oscillate between sensations of loneliness and 
misery and of brightness and beauty. Isolate the sea from 
its gloomy surroundings and it would rival the most beautiful 
lake in the world. The silver sheen in the morning light as 
we had seen it for hours in our early ride from the convent was 
transformed in the middle of the day into burnished gold; but, 
because of their peculiar juxtaposition, not the slightest reflec- 
tion from the surrounding mountains was depicted upon the 
waters. 

Along the shores are numerous pillars of salt; in fact, they 
are continually forming in different grotesque shapes. Lieuten- 
ant Lynch says: "Everything stated in the Bible about the 
Dead Sea and the Jordan we believe to be fully verified by our 
observations. The inference from the Bible, that this entire 
chasm was a plain, sunk and overwhelmed by the wrath of God, 
seems to be sustained by the extraordinary character of our 
soundings. The bottom of the sea consists of two submerged 
plains, an elevated and a depressed one; the former thirteen 
and the latter thirteen hundred feet below the surface." I 
also believe all that the Bible affirms concerning the destruc- 



410 Travels in Three Continents. 

tion of Sodom and Gomorrah; but know of no passage which 
either asserts or intimates that the Dead Sea was formed by 
the catastrophe which overwhelmed the Cities of the Plain. 
The probable and generally accepted hypothesis is that these 
cities stood in the plain of the Jordan, on the north of the Dead 
Sea; that the valley is a part of a prehistoric upheaval and 
depression ; and that the sea and the Jordan are what they 
were when the first inhabitants of the world gazed upon 
them. 

Having remained on the shore, listening to the reminiscen- 
ces of Moses and endeavoring to identify the mountains, 
until sufficiently rested, we remounted and began a fatiguing 
journey across the plains to the Jordan. The mounds and 
little hills for a considerable distance from the water, in- 
crusted with pure salt, are white and dazzling. The river 
was easily identified by the foliage along its shores, illustrating 
many biblical references. A grove of trees was pointed out by 
Moses as a famous bathing place for pilgrims. We could perceive 
the reason for the scriptural figure, the " swellings of Jordan," 
for the current is so rapid as to make it dangerous to bathe or 
attempt to swim. Many have there been drowned as a result 
of recklessness, among them the brother of a distinguished 
American college president, then a young man of twenty-one, 
who, disregarding caution, leaped into the river. 

The feet of pilgrims have worn numerous paths, and the scene 
was suggestive of striking incidents in Bible history. In this 
vicinity Lot saw the plain of the Jordan, and it was even as 
a garden of the Lord. Near here is probably the spot where 
the children of Israel, after their forty years' wanderings, 
came across dry-shod, "right over against Jordan." Nor 
was it far away that Elijah took his mantle, wrapped it 
together, and smote the waters, so that he and Elisha went 
over on dry ground. It was in this wilderness that John 
the Baptist preached, and to him went out great multitudes, 
as he cried, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand." Here he baptized them in the Jordan, they con- 
fessing their sins. Here, too, our Lord was baptized of 
John. There is a concurrence of traditions locating most of 
these events in the immediate neighborhood. 



Dead Sea, Jordan, Jericho, and Bethany. 413 

A lofty and precipitous hill, which we saw for hours as we 
journeyed, has for eight centuries been celebrated as the scene 
of Christ's temptation and forty days' fast. We did not climb 
it, but could almost discern the caverns and hermitages. It 
was peculiarly adapted to anchorites, and from early ages they 
resorted thither, dwelling in solitude and imitating their Lord, 
without the reason for it that he had. Incredible stories are 
told of impossible fasts and almost miraculous longevity. 

Thousands of Greek Christians resort to a certain place and 
bathe in the river, while the Latins go farther to the south. We 
bathed our feet in the Jordan, and refreshed ourselves under 
the shade of the oleanders and other flowering bushes and 
trees; after luncheon, beginning the journey to Jericho, mak- 
ing our way across the plain to the modern town of Reha. 
This is the site of ancient Gilgal and modern Jericho. 

Here the Israelites pitched their camp, set up the twelve 
stones, and celebrated their first passover in the Promised 
Land; and here were circumcised the children born in the 
wilderness; Saul was made king, and Elisha received Naaman 
the Syrian. 

The village is a wretched place, full of thieves and vermin, and 
infamous for all kinds of iniquities. There is nothing left of 
ancient Jericho. We spent the night in a decent hotel, re- 
cently erected, resembling the ordinary two-story frame build- 
ings in this country. 

At sunset the landscape was magnificent ; the 'waste of 
mountains over which we had traveled, the Dead Sea, the 
plain, and the range of mountains beyond us, being gloriously 
illuminated. 

From Jericho we began the journey to Jerusalem, a route 
famous many years ago for difficulty and danger; but a 
Wallachian princess, having met with an accident, gave a 
thousand pounds for the making of a new road, that the 
pilgrims from her country might not fall over the precipices. 
Therefore the road is now perfectly safe for pedestrians and 
for horses. Carriages, however, of the usual sort, could not 
traverse it, though we saw a queer-shaped vehicle dragged 
slowly along. Even this could not have been done by any 
temporary expedient until these changes were made. 



414 Travels in Three Continents. 

We rode for two or three hours, meeting tourists going from 
Jerusalem, and falling in with several hundreds of Russian pil- 
grims who had been down to bathe in the Jordan, and were 
toiling back to the sacred city. They were dressed in the 
extremely hot and uncomfortable attire of Russia, and were 
frequently overcome by the heat so as to fall upon the ground 
and breathe like panting animals. At the khan where we 
took dinner they were lying about like hod carriers, at the 
rest hour, on the hottest days of summer. 

We passed another old khan which is the traditional scene 
of the parable of the good Samaritan. 

Bethany is one of the points universally accepted. Its 
name — House of Poverty — is supposed to have been derived 
from its situation on the borders of the desert, though some 
claim that lepers formerly dwelt there. It was at Bethany 
that Simon the leper lived, in whose house the contents of the 
alabaster box were poured upon the head of the Saviour; and 
there resided Mary and Martha. The modern Arabic name Of 
the place is derived from Lazarus. There are only forty or 
fifty miserable houses, and the inhabitants are Mohammedans. 
The place is picturesque because of the number of olive, 
mango, and fig trees interspersed among the buildings. The 
Tomb of Lazarus attracts the attention of visitors, and some 
recent travelers have been convinced that this is the genuine 
tomb. I did not see anything to suggest even presumption 
that it was the original place of burial of one who lived and 
died more than a thousand years ago. 

But this is certain, that Christ must "have come up from 
Jericho by this route." 

Having again enjoyed the view from the Mount of Olives, 
w r e descended its long slope to the valley of the Kidron, and 
on Saturday entered the city by St. Stephen's Gate. Moses 
acted strangely as we drew near the gate, and at last dis- 
mounted and asked us if we would have the kindness to lead 
his horse into the city. On asking the reason, he answered: 
"I am a Jew. For me to be seen entering on this day with a 
party of travelers would affect my standing among my people." 
To gratify him we led his horse into the city, while he, with 
an air of demure piety, entered on foot. To do this did not 




■ ■ ■ ■■■■ ' ■ ' ■■■ ■ ' ■■ ' ■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■<■■>■■ 



fillips 










Dead Sea, Jordan, Jericho, and Bethany. 417 

disturb him, but to have others know that he did so — he was 
too "conscientious " for that. 

The only point of importance in ancient Jerusalem not yet 
described is the Tower of David. It consists of five towers, 
formerly surrounded by a moat, and forms part of the citadel. 
Owing to its position it affords a comprehensive view. Mr. 
Gilman, the United States consul, thinks that the foundation 
was laid by the Jebusites, and that after David stormed the 
fortress he erected this tower. The ancient foundation, which 
rises to a height of thirty-nine feet, consists of stones of such 
size as to remind one of the Pyramids. In the various sieges 
to which Jerusalem has been exposed, the upper parts have 
often been destroyed and rebuilt. 

Turkish soldiers were upon guard, and we were detained a 
considerable time before even the consul of the United States 
could secure admission to such points as he thought it desira- 
ble to show us. But the obstacles were finally overcome; we 
ascended to the summit, visited the interior of the citadel, and 
saw many evidences of the antiquity of the remains. If it 
w T ere built by David, or even by Herod, of course it might 
have been standing when Christ was in Jerusalem. 

Along the east side is Zion Street, which conducts us to 
Zion Gate on the apex of the ridge of Zion. Unquestionably 
we are now where David built his house, and where the tent 
was pitched for the Ark of God. Close by the gate is a build- 
ing known as the Palace of Caiaphas, now a cemetery for 
Armenian patriarchs. Here tradition becomes ludicrous. 
They pretend to show the pillar on which the cock crew to 
warn Peter! That the tomb of David is near, there can be 
no reasonable doubt. Nehemiah says that the sepulcher of 
David was opposite a pool; and the supposed tomb of David 
stands opposite the Pool of Gihon. Peter says: "Men and 
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, 
that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us 
unto this day." Josephus also refers to it. Mohammedans 
and earlier Christians unite with the Jews in regarding the 
spot as identified; but though the tomb of David must have 
been in this vicinity, in regard to its exact site there is much 
ground for dispute. 



4i 8 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER L. 
Peculiarities of Modern Palestine. 

Jews — Greek Church — Visit to the Patriarch — Russian Church and Pilgrims 
— Armenians — Copts — Abyssinians — Roman Catholics — Protestants — Places 
of Amusement — Society — Sect of the "German Temple" — Lunatics — The 
"American Colony" — Lepers and Leprosy. 

Modern Jerusalem is a study in human nature. There the 
Jews make an unfavorable impression. With due allowance 
for a minority there for business purposes or from religious 
considerations, they are filthy, superstitious, and fanatical, 
many being practically paupers. In the Polish synagogue I 
saw ancient men at their early service. Their howlings were 
dissonant; hair and beards unkempt; skin clammy and cadav- 
erous. In the intervals of reading they took snuff, exhibiting 
large capacity, the result of decades of assiduous practice; but 
failing to absorb all, their hideous aspect was even more de- 
filed. This was the lowest point, as respects worship, which I 
touched. Matters are better in some of the synagogues. 
Thousands, many of them being sent by charity, have come to 
Jerusalem solely to die in the Holy Land. An excellent sys- 
tem has been devised for taking care of them. So soon as a 
Jew arrives he is registered in the synagogues of his own 
nationality, and funds are collected throughout the world for 
the support of these poor Jews. Sir Moses Montefiore con- 
structed a system of tenement houses, which are rented at 
low rates to Jews; and the Rothschilds have built hospitals 
for them. 

How much importance is to be attached to the supposed 
rapid return of the Jews to Palestine? Those whose views of 
Scripture prophecy lead them to believe that the Holy Land 
will finally be occupied exclusively by Jews find encourage- 
ment in this tendency. But my inquiries led me to think that, 
in view of the character of the Jews migrating thither, nothing 
of significance is indicated. 



Peculiarities of Modern Palestine. 419 

The Greek Church is the most powerful body of Christians 
in Syria. They have many churches, schools, monasteries, 
and other institutions. The convents of St. Theodore, St. 
Spiridon, St. Michael, St. Katharine, Caralombos, John the 
Baptist, Demetrius, St. Nicholas, and Spirito, will accommo- 
date three thousand pilgrims; several five hundred each, and 
the rest from fifty to three hundred. I visited two of these: 
no one need starve, and pilgrims are not fastidious. 

Dr. Bancroft and I called upon the patriarch, who is of im- 
posing presence and received us with honor; Father Steph- 
anos, who formerly lived in the United States and speaks 
English well, acting as interpreter. It was impossible to 
make the patriarch realize that Dr. Bancroft is only a distant 
relative of the historian George Bancroft, with whom he was 
determined to confound him. The conversation was formal; 
the tones of the patriarch as deep and heavy as the pedal 
notes of an organ, and his utterance correspondingly slow. 

Large sums of money have been expended within a few 
years by the Russian government for the Russo-Greek Church 
in Jerusalem and other parts of Syria. Outside the wall is an 
elaborate system of buildings and a fine church. How many 
thousand pilgrims could be accommodated there I could not 
ascertain; but I attended service in their church on my last 
Sabbath in the city. 

The Russian pilgrims, in outward demonstration, are de- 
vout; and their natural expression being as stolid as that of a 
bronze statue, the effect is intensified. So liberal are they, and 
so many taxes does the Church put upon them, that, if not re- 
strained, they would give away all the money they have, and be 
unable to get back to Russia. On arriving they report to the 
Russian consul, who takes away from them enough money to 
pay their expenses home. When their pilgrimage is over 
usually they have nothing but that on which to depend. 

I visited the Armenian monastery behind the Tower of David, 
near the Zion Gate. It is a large institution in which live 
several hundred monks and brethren, and which can entertain 
twelve hundred pilgrims. The patriarch resides in the monas- 
tery. We caught a glimpse of him passing through one of the 
chapels. Priests can be distinguished from the Greeks by 



420 Travels in Three Continents. 

long pointed hoods, the others wearing round caps, not dis- 
similar to the traveling caps used in this country, but higher in 
the crown. 

The old Armenian Church has a character peculiar to itself; 
standing midway between the Greek and Latin Churches, but 
maintaining its independent position ever since the sixth cen- 
tury, when it practically cut itself off from Rome. Armenian 
ecclesiastics are a fine-tempered, dignified, exceedingly gentle- 
manly body of men, with little of the stoic in their compo- 
sitions, or natural inclination to monkish forms. The services 
are conducted with dignity and splendor, though the musical 
part is not equal to that of the Russian Church. 

The Copts have a monastery and chapels, and jurisdiction 
over a part of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where two 
Coptic priests are continually shut in to conduct services 
night and day. 

The Abyssinians have a monastery near the Church of the 
Holy Sepulcher, but, not satisfied with their treatment and 
position, for several years they have been erecting a church 
behind the Russian establishments, and outside the wall. It 
occupies an imposing position. 

I had noticed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher a digni- 
fied-looking priest performing his devotions. He was so 
dark that I made inquiry concerning his nativity, and found 
that he was an Abyssinian. On a visit to the new edifices I 
met him coming out of the dormitory, and induced him by 
signs to show me about the buildings, not dreaming that he 
was the head of the establishment. When I informed Dr. 
Bancroft of the visit he proposed another. This time we were 
accompanied by an interpreter, and I had an interesting con- 
versation with the representative of, perhaps, the most pecu- 
liar form of Christianity in the world. 

The Abyssinians are but a half-civilized people. When we 
had entered Nubia we were separated from their country by but 
a comparatively short journey. Accounts of Abyssinian Chris- 
tianity by travelers represent it as intolerant, and formal to an 
astonishing degree. 

They are required to fast even oftener than the Greeks, the 
number of regular davs beine more than two out of three in 



Peculiarities of Modern Palestine. 421 

the whole year, besides special fasts, and they have to abstain 
from drink as well as food, but have plenty of feasts. Cere- 
monies on funeral occasions and marriages are barbarous. 

The ecclesiastical connection is with the Copts of Egypt, 
the chief hierarch being elected at Alexandria. They call 
him an Abuna; next in importance are bishops; then the 
Alaka, who takes care of the money; and finally priests and 
deacons. Their services are so elaborate that it requires 
twenty priests and deacons for one church. The head priest 
told me that the war between Abyssinia and Italy prevented 
their getting funds, and in consequence of this they cannot 
complete the building, and suffer many privations. They 
seemed devout, and the one with whom we talked was very 
gentlemanly. 

Before leaving we drank with him a glass of sherbet, a 
sweet, unintoxicating fluid, resembling raspberry syrup. 
Coffee also was served. An exciting incident of the conver- 
sation was his account of being captured a few years before, 
while endeavoring to reach Abyssinia, to make a statement to 
the king of the progress of the enterprise. The interpreter, 
who had often heard the Abyssinians perform, and who was a 
Catholic, declared that they were a barbarous people, and 
would strike the floor with their staves, and howl at certain 
parts of the service. 

Roman Catholics are increasing in Jerusalem, but are infe- 
rior in numbers and power either to the orthodox Greeks or 
the Russians. The Franciscan monastery occupies a command- 
ing situation, and the services conducted by the Latins are 
performed with more than their usual attention to details. The 
absence of any one government disposed to appropriate large 
funds to maintain the honor of the Church in Jerusalem ac- 
counts for their inferior position. It is an occasion for won- 
der that the Vatican, with its immense receipts, does not pay 
more attention to Jerusalem. 

Protestantism is doing little in the city, though it is the seat 
of a bishopric. Theoretically this bishopric is supported half 
by Prussia and half by England. There have been three in- 
cumbents: Bishop Alexander, Bishop Gobat, and the present 
Bishop Blythe. We were introduced to Bishop Blythe by our 



422 Travels in Three Continents. 

consul, who attended his services, and learned that it is a 
bishopric of no special importance. 

Christ Church, nearly opposite the Tower of David, on 
Mount Zion, is a fine building. There are various schools 
supported by the mission, one in which the services are en- 
tirely in Arabic. The funds of the mission have much to do 
with supporting the outward show of work. The Cermans 
sustain several orphanages and a fine hospital under the charge 
of the deaconesses of Kaiserswerth, similar to that already de- 
scribed. 

There appear to be in the holy city very few places of 
amusement, of the kind ordinarily found. Society is divided 
into cliques. Some of the missions are battlefields; charges 
are bandied about against members, and scandal is afloat. Of 
course, in a general statement of this kind, allowance must be 
made for exceptions. There, as everywhere, scandal makes 
notoriety, while private virtue is unnoticed : yet the conver- 
sations I had led me to think that there is more backbiting 
and retailing of personal gossip among the foreign residents of 
Jerusalem than in any other city of its size. 

One of the Protestant colonies is near Jaffa. It is twenty- 
three years old, founded by the Wurtemberg sect of the "Ger- 
man Temple." They hold a peculiar doctrine, based on the 
prophecies, that Christians are obliged to settle in Palestine. 

In 1866 an American colony, led by one Adams, settled 
there. The majority were sincere Christians, deceived and 
swindled by fanatical leaders and their dishonest employees. 
Their hardships were equal to those endured by the early 
settlers of Massachusetts, and incredible sufferings, followed 
by many deaths, occurred. When the Quaker City visited 
Jaffa, it benevolently took away the starving people to Egypt, 
whence they were helped back to America. Rollo Floyd, the 
guide, is one of the survivors. 

Lunatics come to Jerusalem from all parts of the world. One 
was in the habit for years of walking about .carrying a heavy 
cross. A woman came with the revelation that Christ was to 
descend to the Mount of Olives, and she was to make the first 
cup of tea for him; sevei"al times she ascended the mount for 
the purpose. Her lunacy now is of a mild form. 



Peculiarities of Modern Palestine. 425 

A conspicuous household of an eccentric character now ex- 
isting in Palestine is known as the American colony. It con- 
sists of a number of persons, chiefly from Chicago, who went 
there some years ago, under the leadership of Mr. Spofford 
and his wife. We spent a Sabbath evening at their residence, 
listening to their singing, and conversing with them concern- 
ing their principles. From some points of view they make an 
excellent impression, being active in benevolent work, self-de- 
nying, sweet in spirit, and having unusual facility for securing 
the affections of their beneficiaries. 

Their singing is charming, their spirit devout and trustful, 
and their bearing toward each other not such as to suggest 
anything evil; but it requires only a fair measure of discernment 
to see that a dangerous fanaticism lies beneath the attractive sur- 
face, which will make impossible the permanent success of the 
colony and prevent the fulfillment of the enthusiastic hopes 
which originally inspired it. They act upon the faith cure, 
anti-medicine theory, and the number of deaths since the 
colony was founded is considerably in excess of the average 
number of persons dying of the same age in an ordinary 
society. They eschew matrimony, and are theoretically Shak- 
ers. They also profess to be guided in all particulars by 
direct revelation from God. Financially they have been in 
difficulty so often that only the interposition of the American 
consuls has prevented their being dispossessed; but they claim 
to have property enough in the United States to pay all bills, 
which property they allege is kept back by relatives on the 
ground that they are insane. Some who have recently joined 
the society obviously dwell in the borderland between sanity 
and mental aberration. 

I am glad that Jerusalem is under the control of the Turks 
rather than that of the Jews, or of the Greek or Latin Chris- 
tians. The Jews would care little for Christian antiquities, the 
Greeks and Latins would be exclusive, the Mohammedans are 
impartial, and their forces often needed to suppress disturb- 
ances between rival sects of degenerate Christians in the very 
precincts of the sacred places. I went away thinking more of 
the new than of the old Jerusalem, but abundantly repaid for 
the visit. 



426 Travels in Three Continents. 

Jerusalem lepers are almost ubiquitous on account of their 
habit of sitting by gates and in thoroughfares begging. Their 
horrible aspect fortunately defies description, while the piercing 
cry, "Leprous! leprous!! leprous!!!" must echo for months 
in the memory of every traveler. Some are blind, and with 
their faces upturned toward the sun, the last vestige of the 
eye gone, arms, hands, and necks covered with hideous sores, 
they excite pity mingled with disgust. 

Hospitals have been built, but they will not stay in them if 
they can avoid it, preferring to beg and to enjoy the liberty of 
travel and domestic life. Different views have been held as to 
whether modern leprosy is identical with that described in the 
Bible. 

An attack of modern leprosy is preceded for some months 
by languor, chills, shivering, and irregular attacks of fever. 
The spots upon the skin, generally the first visible symptoms, 
are reddish and rapidly pushed outward by dark lumps, which 
in time form clusters "resembling bunches of grapes." This 
is followed by general deterioration of the tissues. Sight, 
hearing, and speech are interfered with, and last of all come 
dreadful festering sores. These from time to time heal and 
appear elsewhere. There is another sort called "smooth lep- 
rosy," in which the patches are inflamed, but do not swell. 
Such is the vital tenacity, however, that many of these 
horrible cases linger on from ten to twenty-five years. The 
disease is generally hereditary, and the children of lepers are 
usually attacked by it; yet I visited a quarter where they live 
together and marry, and are thus perpetuating this frightful 
scourge. 

The disease is spreading throughout the world, and English 
magazines have of late been considering it. Sir Morel 1 
Mackenzie had an article in the Nineteenth Century on the 
" Dreadful Revival of Leprosy." The New York Academy of 
Medicine discussed the subject, and a distinguished phy- 
sician and traveler gave an account of what he had seen in 
various parts of this continent and in the Sandwich Islands. 
He considers that there are millions of lepers; shows how the 
Chinese took the disease into the Sandwich Islands about forty 
years ago, and declares that some also carried it to Australia 



Peculiarities of Modern Palestine. 427 

and California. According to an official report there are one 
hundred and thirty-five thousand lepers in India. 

About twenty-live years ago the London College of Phy- 
sicians decided that the disease is not contagious, and not 
necessarily hereditary; but Sir Morell Mackenzie denies both 
propositions, as do other eminent authorities, all of whom 
appear to agree in thinking it incurable. 



42S Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER LI. 
Leaving Jerusalem. 

Description of the Caravan — Shafut — Ramallah — El-Bireh — Bethel — Ai — A 
Slave Lost — Robbers' Glen — Caravan of Camels — A Night of Storm and 
Terror at Sinjil. 

The time had now come to depart from Jerusalem. We 
designed to visit every sacred spot in the manner best adapted 
to allow close examination, vivid impression, and the greatest 
amount of familiarity with the people and country. Our 
preparations took some days. The first essential was a drag- 
oman, who selected a cook with one or two assistants, a 
waiter, a muleteer, and several subordinates; six mules and 
four horses. Our tent was large, supplied with iron bed- 
steads, good mattresses, a table, washbasin, Persian rugs, 
and a partition which transformed the front part into a dining- 
room and parlor. There were other tents for the men. The 
tents with their poles and cords, stove, fuel, food, furniture, 
bedsteads, etc., had to be carried upon mules. 

Our dragoman, Selim, who proved to be guide, philosopher, 
and friend, was the supreme authority. The time for breakfast 
was fixed each night on retiring, and half an hour before it was 
ready we were aroused. Before we had finished dressing, break- 
fast was announced, the men began to take down all the tents 
but our own, and while the cook, his helper, and the waiter were 
washing the dishes, everything else was made ready for an 
early start. Luncheon was put up, and the dragoman, ac- 
companied by one man and a mule, went with us on our 
various tours of exploration, while the rest of the caravan 
went by the directest route to the spot agreed upon for the 
camp. We usually rested from one to two hours at the lunch- 
ing place, and found — unless the journey for the day was very 
long — the tents pitched and dinner being prepared on arriving 
in the evening. 

We had been warned that we were starting rather too early 



Leaving Jerusalem. 429 

in the season, and would be likely to encounter severe storms. 
The "former rain " of the Bible occurs late in October and 
early in November; the "latter rain" falls in March and 
April. But my experience has not been favorable to post- 
poning the starting on long journeys by sea or land on account 
of weather. 

At nine o'clock on Monday morning our cavalcade, nearly a 
hundred yards long, was formed; the dragoman riding at the 
head, and Dr. Bancroft and I immediately following. We 
had learned that three tourists had started in advance of us, 
without tents, having only a dragoman and intending to lodge 
at night at the khans and convents. Drops of rain soon com- 
pelled us to cover ourselves with rubber blankets and coats 
procured in anticipation of a storm. While attempting to 
make this change the wind rose to the proportions of a bliz- 
zard, and it was with extreme difficulty that we kept our seats. 
Fortunately the clouds were high, so that the view of Jerusa- 
lem and the surrounding country was not seriously obscured. 
We were now above the city and could clearly see its position 
and relation to the Mount of Olives, to Bethlehem and the 
Jaffa road, and to other features of the country. 

The road descending rapidly, we saw Jerusalem no more. 
Following the caravan route, we rode due north, and soon 
reached Shafut, built of fine old materials, the ruins of former 
fortifications and houses. It is believed by the best authori- 
ties to be the ancient Gibeah, where was committed the fright- 
ful crime that almost caused the annihilation of the tribe of 
Benjamin. It was here that the seven sons of Saul were 
hanged, and that afflicted Rizpah sustained her unparalleled 
vigil. 

Ancient villages and ruins of walls were numerous. In- 
stead of farmhouses scattered over the cultivated plain, as in 
the countries with which we are familiar, insecurity of life and 
property is so great, on account of wandering bands of 
marauders, that the people dwell, as in former times, in 
villages; and only the houses of watchmen can be seen upon 
the plains or in the fields. 

Ramallah, at a little distance from the road, is inhabited 
chiefly by Christians. Both the Greeks and Latins have 



4jo Travels in Three Continents. 

monasteries there, where travelers can be entertained, and the 
Protestant missionaries keep a school. 

We tarried first at El-Bireh, identified with the Bible 
Beeroth. There has been a tradition for some centuries that 
this is the spot where Joseph and Mary, when they were de- 
parting from Jerusalem, first noticed that Jesus was not in 
their company. It is certain that they were traveling by this 
route. 

Half an hour later we reached Bethel. The very huts of 
the people are built out of materials plainly used in edifices 
in ancient times. Sitting on the wall of an old cistern, built 
in a costly and careful manner, we talked of the wonderful 
events which had taken place at Bethel. Here Abraham 
reared his altar and called upon the name of the Lord; here 
Jacob took the stones for his pillow, lay down to sleep, and 
saw the angels ascending and descending upon the ladder. 
He changed the name of the place from Luz to Bethel, " the 
house of God." Here Jeroboam set up the golden calf, as 
described in the First and Second Book of Kings. Says a 
writer: "Here or hereabouts there came forth two she bears 
out of the wood, and tare the forty and two children who 
scoffed at Elisha." The modern name of Bethel is Betin. 
Only about four hundred persons now live there. 

The pond, of which the spring is in the center inclosed in a 
circular basin, is one hundred and five yards long and seventy- 
two wide, the whole inclosed in solid masonry. The view of 
the undulating valley was beautiful, now and then glorified 
by rays of sunlight piercing the heavy clouds which had hung 
dark over the mountains and plains all the morning. 

Within sight of Bethel is Ai, which Joshua besieged with 
thirty thousand mighty men of valor, but so strong was the 
place that this force was not able to conquer it without the 
use of stratagem. A shrewd subterfuge it was, having been 
intentionally paralleled by several of the greatest generals of 
the world: " And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were 
beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness." 
The inhabitants of Ai rushed forth to pursue, but an ambush 
provided for the emergency arose and entered the forsaken 
city. 



Leaving Jerusalem. 431 

For a while after departing from Bethel the route was toil- 
some, but like most regions in Palestine, amazing desolation 
leads by constant surprises to equally astonishing fertility. 
Where there is no irrigation the sun's fierce heat makes the 
land but a heap of ashes; but the same sun, with water to cool 
its parching rays, reproduces the Garden of Eden in every 
valley and on every hill, where even a thin covering of soil 
affords a place for the seed of the sower or the germs of life 
carried by birds and winds. A land of vineyards and or- 
chards was before us, illustrating the blessings pronounced 
upon Joseph: "The precious things of heaven, for the dew, 
and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious 
fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things 
put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient 
mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and 
for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof." 

A man, dressed in a somewhat distinguished manner, and 
mounted upon a horse finer than any we had seen in Syria, 
riding rapidly across the plains and over the hills, turning 
aside to speak to everyone, attracted my attention. I said to 
Selim: "What is that man doing? Is he a superintendent of 
the district, a courier delivering messages, or an officer upon a 
search?" "I will find out for you," said Selim, and engaged 
him in conversation. It was a reminder in that far-off land of 
what for two centuries took place every day in every year in 
the United States. This man was an owner of slaves, and a 
valuable black woman, whom he had purchased from the 
Soudan, had run away. She had been gone half a day, and 
he was riding to and fro offering every man five pounds of 
English money as a reward if he should bring her back. 

Ruins, of whose origin no satisfactory account can be 
given, were passed from time to time, but nothing to dispute 
the supremacy of the natural scenery. The walls of an 
old castle and a Byzantine church stimulated imagination. 
Olive plantations were numerous, and are always pleasing. 
The young trees are beautiful; the old, suggestive of hoary 
antiquity, are considered types of venerable age. Old men 
sitting under olive' trees seemed to unite two forms of nature 
and gave life to scores of scriptural symbols. 



432 Travels in Three Continents. 

We descended into a beautiful glen, known as the " Robbers' 
Glen," and proceeded to the "Robbers' Spring." The water 
is sweet, pure, and cool, the scenery exquisite, but the place has 
had a bad reputation for hundreds of years, and has not at all 
improved. Without a large force it would be dangerous to 
encamp there. A magnificent caravan of more than sixty 
camels was resting at the spring. 

Four or five were riding camels, as different in shape and 
action from ordinary baggage camels as the finest saddle 
horses are from the slow-moving truck horses. Like all their 
race they indulged in growling, but some had a benignant look, 
and one displayed considerable affection for his rider, who 
used a code of signals understood by himself and the camel. 

At six o'clock we encamped on a threshing floor near the 
village of Sinjil, and had the first real test of camping ac- 
commodations. The tents were set up with rapidity, our own 
fulfilling all the conditions promised, and a dinner was served 
in a style to gratify appetites sharpened by nearly ten hours' 
riding. But the heavens were ominous, and the wind made the 
cordage creak and snap like the rigging of a ship in a storm. 
Selim acknowledged that the prospect was not encouraging. 

At 8:30 we went to bed, taking the precaution to spread our 
rubber blankets and waterproofs within reach. At half past 
ten it began to rain, and the night was one of horror. An old 
camper-out in the wilds of Maine, the Adirondacks, the Rocky 
Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada, I never experienced such a 
night. The amount of rain that fell, its violence, and the 
tempestuous manner in which it beat upon and into the tent, 
defy description. During the few moments that we lost con- 
sciousness, dreams of shipwreck, fire, earthquake, and volcanic 
eruptions terrified the mind. Selim and the muleteers were 
engaged in fastening down the tents the greater part of the 
night. Mud was six inches deep upon the hillside and plain. 
In the tent of the muleteers, a sticky mixture of water and 
clay was so thick that it would have been impossible for one 
wearing English shoes to take a second step without unshoe- 
ing himself. It was the longest night ever experienced by me 
on land, and I caution travelers through Palestine, in early 
March, to go prepared for such an experience. 



From Shiloh to Gerizim. 



CHAPTER LII. 
From Shiloh to Gerizim. 

A Day in a Mohammedan Village — Children and Dogs — A Mohammedan 
Cemetery — Shiloh — Bible Events Connected with the Place — Jacob's Well 
— Discovery Made by Bishop Barclay — Climbing the " Mount of Blessing" 
— Formation of the Summit — Ruins Found There. 

When daylight came we found everything so wet that it 
was out of the question to dry the bedding, curtains, and tents, 
so as to make it safe to camp out the next night, and it was 
decided to spend that day in Sin j il, there being prospect of 
"drying" weather. Selim went to the village, and arranged 
with a Mohammedan to surrender to us his best house, which 
contained only one room. The building was of stone, 
plastered, and had a chimney and fireplace. Our beds were 
brought in and plans made to spend the day. This Moham- 
medan had several wives and a corresponding number of 
children; also several dogs; and the day, which would other- 
wise have been lost, gave us a rare opportunity of study- 
ing Mohammedan life. The houses are crowded together, as 
in Egypt and other Mohammedan countries. If a man is 
able, he has half a dozen houses, in one of which cooking is 
done. In sleeping, they crowd together more like beasts than 
human beings. Each little hut has its dog, which, though 
obedient to the owner and the members of his family, will 
fight furiously with other dogs, and keep a jealous eye upon 
strangers. It was some time before we dared venture more 
than a few feet from the house, on account of dogs perched 
upon the tops of smaller buildings, who threatened to descend 
upon us, after the manner of panthers. 

The children were handsome and bright, and stared with 
large, round eyes, as if we had been animals from a tempest- 
shattered menagerie. We agreed to give them no money 
until going away, lest the entire village should besiege us. 
This resolution was adhered to for a few hours, but in an evil 



434 Travels in Three Continents. 

moment we yielded, and from that time until our departure, 
except during the hours of sleep, they rivaled the beggars 
of Egypt. We expected extortionate charges in addition to 
what was paid by the dragoman as a part of his responsibility, 
but had no particular cause to complain. 

Several occurrences during that day and night illustrated 
human nature, and I am sure that, if the doctor and I could 
have spoken Arabic, we would have found as many opportu- 
nities for pleasant and instructive conversation as if over- 
taken by such a storm in England, Germany, or any of the 
rural districts of the United States. Half a dozen short ex- 
cursions gave us a good view of the village. 

Our start the next morning was by no means so jubilant a 
proceeding as that of two days before. The horses and mules 
drooped, all the men had colds, and Selim, having had but 
little sleep either night, had to summon philosophy to his aid. 
The tents were not yet dry, everything smelled musty, but 
the air was keen and stimulating. 

Passing by the Mohammedan cemetery we heard loud lam- 
entations. Beyond the wall we saw a company of twelve or 
fifteen women wailing about the grave of one who had been 
buried ten days. Each successive day, for a certain period of 
time, those women assemble and mourn. There was little 
music, but all seemed solemn and did not cast a glance toward 
the passers. The sound was a monotone, with gusts of em-' 
phasis on certain words, and peculiar pauses, some rhythmical, 
others arbitrary. As they sang they gently swayed forward 
and backward. 

The village of Seilun is upon the ground of the Shiloh of the 
Bible. There is little doubt of the authenticity of this site, 
though, from the time of St. Jerome to 1838, it was lost. It is 
described so perfectly in the Bible, that none can question it. 
A mass of stones, fragments of columns, and literally a heap 
of ruins, with a solitary tree hanging over the broken wall, it 
presents a sad contrast to its former glory. Here Joshua and 
the leaders assembled to divide the land among the tribes, and 
here the first tabernacle was erected. It was at this place that 
Eli dwelt. There Hannah visited her son Samuel, taking his 
little coat every year. Here dwelt the ark of the Lord, and 



From Shiloh to Gerizim. 435 

thence it was stolen by the Philistines. There Ahijah the 
prophet lived, and it was to that sacred place that the wife of 
Jeroboam went to learn the doom of her husband. 

Ascending to the summit of a barren mountain we descended 
into another valley, and then rose to a desolate plateau, from 
which we saw the vast plain of Makhnaa and, beyond and around 
it, the mountains of Samaria. On our left was Gerizim, with 
Ebal opposite to it, and in the distant north snow-clad Hermon 
reared its massive head. A few miles from this point we came 
to Jacob's Well, upon which all traditions, whether of Jews, 
Samaritans, Mohammedans, or Christians, agree. Stanley 
says that this is the undisputed site of the well, with every 
claim to be considered the original well in which Jacob, ac- 
cording to the customs of Abraham and Isaac, marked his first 
possession by digging a " well to give drink thereof to himself, 
his children, and his cattle." It is at present a great cistern, 
a shaft cut through the rock, about three yards wide, and 
twenty-four yards deep. From the amount of rubbish which 
has fallen down it, it is believed to have been originally two or 
three times as deep as it is now. Once there was a church 
over it; this has fallen into decay, and many of the stones 
composing it have tumbled into the well. 

Bishop Barclay, in 1881, made an interesting discovery — 
that of the circular mouth of this well, then blocked by a mass 
of stone. Securing the aid of men, the bishop and his wife 
managed to clear it, and the ledge was uncovered on which 
doubtless the Saviour rested. The grooves were found in the 
stone, caused by the ropes with which the waterpots were 
drawn up. Between 1866 and 1881, the bottom of the well had 
risen eight feet, on account of the debris therein accumulated. 
He who will turn to the fourth chapter of John, will find in a 
few master touches, bearing equally the impress of truth, sim- 
plicity, and genius, a perfect picture of the country as it now 
is, and of the well. 

Abraham had built his first altar at this spot. Jacob died, 
but, with an undying love, bequeathed it to his favorite son, 
Joseph, saying: "I took it out of the hand of the Amorite 
with my sword and my bow." When Joseph was dying he 
gave commandment concerning his bones, that they were to 



436 Travels in Three Continents. 

be brought and buried there. They showed us the tomb of 
Joseph near the well, but it is obviously a comparatively 
modern structure. Yet near this spot Joseph was buried, and 
in his early youth he wandered around this field, looking for 
his brethren. 

The woman of Samaria said to Jesus: "Our fathers wor- 
shiped in this mountain " (Gerizim). We passed from the well, 
through a beautifully cultivated valley, in which were fine 
olive groves. Mount Gerizim was now upon our left, and 
Ebal on the right. After riding up the steep path, so far as 
was convenient, we dismounted and climbed to the summit of 
the " Mount of Blessing." A beautiful spring gushes out about 
a sixth of the way from the valley to the top. The water was 
cold and clear, but sparkling, as though artificially charged. 
Halfway up is a plain, and just above is a spot, where, for in- 
definite ages, the Samaritans have pitched their tents at the 
Feast of the Passover. Gerizim is a true mountain, lacking 
but a hundred and forty-five feet of being three thousand feet 
above the sea level. It is a huge mass of limestone of the 
tertiary formation. 

No traveler should be deterred from making the ascent. The 
summit is a broad table-land, affording the finest opportunities 
for comprehending the landscape — the blue line of the Mediter- 
ranean, the whole route over which we had traveled, the plain 
of Makhnaa, and the mountains of Gilead. Dean Stanley be- 
lieved that this was the scene of Abraham's encounter with 
Melchizedek and the sacrifice of Isaac. He regards the smooth 
sheet of rock on the top, with the cave beside it, as the most 
authentic remnant of primitive worship now existing in Pales- 
tine. It was the sacred place of Shechem. 

Jotham delivered his satirical parable from the top of the 
mount; and at the base of the mountain, and in the valley be- 
low, may be seen specimens of the trees which Jotham uses: 
" The olive tree," "the fig tree," "the vine," " the bramble." 

Apart from its natural scenery, the summit of Gerizim is 
a surprise to the traveler, in the extent and number of the 
ruins existing there. The mountain does not culminate in a 
cone or sharp point, but in a flat surface, at one end of which 
are the ruins of an immense castle, square, and flanked with 



From Shiloh to Gerizim. 437 

towers. It is supposed to belong to the time of Justinian, 
but some maintain that the walls, nearly ten feet thick, are of 
later date. A large reservoir is to the north of the castle, and 
on the east side are several chambers; one has a Greek cross 
over the door. The old church was built in the time of Jus- 
tinian, more than thirteen hundred years ago. There were 
chapels, and the building was octagonal. Long pavements 
extend from north to south, and the very stones of the altar 
erected by Joshua are pointed out. 

I should have been glad to ascend Ebal, the " Mount of Curs- 
ing." Three hours would have been sufficient, but, having lost 
a day, we were content to view it from Gerizim. Over this 
valley, and on the hillsides, the whole host of Israel was gath- 
ered. The Levites stood on Gerizim to pronounce blessing 
upon the obedient, and from Ebal denounced curses upon the 
rebellious. Joshua (viii) tells when and how it was done, and 
Deut. xi-xiv gives the order by Moses for the ceremony. We 
tested the echoes from the slope of Gerizim, and brought 
back sounds that appeared to come from Ebal. Various trav- 
elers have stationed friends on both mountains, they them- 
selves standing in the center of the plain, and have declared 
that they could hear distinctly what both said. 

We lunched by the wayside, that day, not far from the spot 
where Jesus, being wearied, rested upon Jacob's Well, and had 
meat to eat that his disciples "knew not of." 



438 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER LIII. 
Shechem, Samaria, Jenin. 

Events of Sacred History Connected with Nabulus — The Modern Town — 
Samaritans — Samaritan Codex of the Pentateuch — Across the Valley of 
Samaria — Street of Columns — The Plain of Esdraelou — Jenin. 

From Gerizim we had seen the beautiful valley of Nabulus, 
and our road now led through it. This is ancient Shechem, 
also called Sichar, Sichem, and Sychem. Abraham was the first 
biblical visitor to the place, and the land was then owned 
by the Canaanites. Jacob found it in the possession of the 
Hivites, and governed by Hamor, the father of Shechem. 
Simeon and Levi took it and murdered every male, for which 
they were cursed by Jacob on his deathbed. It must have 
been near here that Joseph was seized by his brethren. Re- 
hoboam and Jeroboam met there and divided the kingdom, 
and then Shechem became the seat of Jeroboam's government. 
To Christians it is peculiarly interesting because, after the cap- 
tivity, the Samaritans made this their sacred place. The woman 
who drew from Jacob's Well the water for Jesus lived here. 

The place has about a thousand Christians, a few Prot- 
estant and the others either Latin or Greek; a larger num- 
ber are Jews, but the majority of the people are Mohammed- 
ans. Down to a recent period the town was bitterly intoler- 
ant toward Christian visitors, whom they pelted with stones, 
at the same time crying il Ngzrani /" 

The buildings are solidly built of stone, and some are orna- 
mented; but the streets are dirty and narrow. An extraordinary 
traffic in soap, the principal ingredient of which is olive oil, is 
carried on, there being more than twenty manufactories. 

In Nabulus dwell all the Samaritans in the world, less than one 
hundred and fifty. They are of "noble physiognomy" and 
of magnificent physique. The men would attract attention 
anywhere by their proportions; and have so little of the Jew- 
ish cast that they would not be taken as belonging to that 



Shechem, Samaria, Jenin. 439 

race. On being introduced to the teacher of the school, a 
man fully six feet in height, we asked to see the ancient Samari- 
tan Codex of the Pentateuch, one of the oldest manuscripts in 
the world. The teacher solemnly assured us that he brought 
it forth, but, having been warned that an attempt is made to 
palm off a more recent copy upon travelers, we sent for the 
high priest and tried to ascertain whether we saw the original. 
In a few moments he acknowledged to Selim that the real 
original manuscript had not been shown. It was then brought 
forth and reverently kissed by the Samaritans. They say that 
it was written by a grandson or great-grandson of Aaron, 
which must be classed with the instances, so common in the 
Eastern world, of drawing the long bow. Nevertheless those 
competent to judge regard it as being nearly two thousand 
years old. 

The high priest is handsome; and, paying him a compliment, 
we learned that he had his photographs, and was not above 
selling them. George Eliot, in Middlemarch, declares that 
none are so proud of their photographs, or give artists more 
trouble, than doctors of divinity who have renounced the 
world. When it is considered that a stock trade is done by 
photographers in Great Britain and the United States in pic- 
tures of ministers and of bishops in their prelatical robes; that 
peddlers of photographs of the successful revivalist follow him 
in his spiritual labors, and that a snug sum is derived from 
their sale, I will say nothing against this man, who, so far as 
personal beauty is concerned, had a better reason for putting 
his photographs upon the market than a majority of those 
who find so much pleasure in it. 

A peculiarity of the Samaritans is scrupulous cleanliness. 
We were curious to see Jacob, a Samaritan who visited Eng- 
land a few years ago, and was suspected of dealing in false an- 
tiquities. He came forth, and was ingratiating in manner and 
of splendid physique. His countenance was indicative of high 
intellectuality; he spoke English, and is said to be learned in 
other modern languages. 

A pleasant incident was the glimpse we had of the Samari- 
tan children, for it is seldom that one can see the entire rising 
generation of an historic people. 



440 Travels in Three Continents. 

The Samaritans fought against the Jews, Christians, and the 
Roman emperors. In the sixth century they were numerous 
and dangerous, and Justinian dispatched a great army against 
them. Some fled to Persia and others became Christians. 
For a long time after that they are not mentioned in history. 
There were a thousand of them in the twelfth century, but since 
then they have diminished to about one hundred and fifty, 
averaging three to a family. They believe in the Pentateuch, 
reject the rest of the Scriptures, worship one God, and hate 
idols. Three times a year they make a pilgrimage to the top 
of Mount Gerizim. At the Feast of the Passover they offer 
sacrifices. A Samaritan, when performing any service in the 
synagogue at Nabulus, looks in an oblique direction toward 
Mount Gerizim; and from that point the feet of successive 
generations of Samaritans, from the time of Nehemiah until 
now, have worn a path to the summit of the mountain. 

They are as antagonistic to the Jews as were their fathers. 
Some day they will be reduced to one or two, who will have a 
fortune in that ancient manuscript of the Pentateuch, and 
probably in future ages it will repose in the British Museum, 
or some other endowed repository of antiquities. 

I bought in Nabulus some sesame, grain much cultivated 
in the East, resembling oats, and often spoken of in oriental 
legends. In the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, in the story 
of "AH Baba and the Forty Thieves," when Cassim was 
in the cave, he forgot the magic words which alone would 
open the door. Vainly he tried "Open, wheat," "Open, 
barley." "Sesame" he could not recall, and so died for his 
curiosity and cupidity. 

Nabulus stands on the great divide, and we saw brooks run- 
ning eastward toward the Jordan, and westward toward the 
Great Sea. It took us nearly three hours to cross the charm- 
ing valley which had been so long in sight. Then we began 
to ascend the hill of Samaria. The First and Second Books of 
Kings give an account of the history of this place, until the 
prophet Hosea declares that Samaria shall become desolate. 
The New Testament contains its apostolic history. Philip 
preached there. There was long a rivalry between Nazareth 
and Samaria; as the former increased the latter declined, and 



Shechem, Samaria, Jenin. 441 

is now a miserable place, but retains indications of its former 
grandeur. Tradition represents that John the Baptist, Oba- 
diah, and Elisha were buried there. We went down into the 
Tomb of John the Baptist, and saw a stone door less than four 
feet high, said to be the door of St. John's prison. Josephus, 
however, says that John was not imprisoned there, but in a 
castle on the Dead Sea. St. Jerome is the first author whose 
works have come down to modern times who speaks of John 
the Baptist being buried there. On a point like this, I should 
be inclined to believe Josephus rather than any later writer, 
unless the latter could prove by contemporary evidence that 
the former had fallen into error. 

A street of columns, of which a hundred whole or broken 
remain, with the ruins of others, was interesting. The orig- 
inal colonnade was about three fifths of a mile long. Some of 
the columns are buried beneath the soil. As Thomson says: 
"The entire hill is covered with rubbish, indicating exist- 
ence and repeated destruction of a large city." 

We rode rapidly across the plain to the place of encamp- 
ment; but what a view burst upon us when we ascended a hill 
from which stretched away the plain of Esdraelon ! About us 
were the gardens of Samaria, the place to which we de- 
scended to camp being on the boundary between those 
mountains and the plain. The path passed near the ruins of 
Dothan, where Joseph came seeking his brethren, and they 
sold him to the Ishmaelites. Elisha' the prophet lived here, 
and Benhadad surrounded him with horses and chariots in 
order to capture him. 

Before reaching Jenin we went through another of those 
glens famous as a stronghold of robbers. The traditions of 
many resemble wonderfully the tales of the robber castles and 
bands on the Rhine. 

Jenin was one of the ancient boundaries between Samaria 
and Galilee. Beautiful gardens and clear springs abound 
there, but " we could tarry but a night." 



442 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER LIV. 
Jezreel, Nain, and the Cave of the Witch of Endor. 

Figs and Palms — Jezreel — A Bedouin Camp — Dogs in Palestine — Fountain 
of Gideon — The Beautiful Village of Shunem — Caravan Route — Nain — 
An Elderly Appearing Boy — Endor and its Tragic History — Cave of the 
Witch. 

It was at the time of young figs, and we saw them in the 
groves of Samaria as plentiful as peaches in a fine season in 
the orchards of Delaware. No one who sees only the fig of 
commerce, packed and pressed, can form a correct idea of the 
appearance of the young fruit. Its greenness is a shade pecul- 
iar to itself; its shape somewhat like that of a small gourd. 
The stunted palms at Jenin reminded us of the scenes of 
Egypt; but the palm tree generally in Palestine is inferior to 
those found where the climate is more uniform. 

From Jenin we went across the great plain of Esdraelon 
to Jezreel, now known as Zerin. This plain has several 
names: Jezreel (Hebrew), Esdraelon (Greek), the valley of 
Armageddon, spoken of in the Revelation of St. John, where 
Gog and Magog, figuratively used, are to fight a battle. It 
begins at the Mediterranean, between the head of Carmel on 
the south and Acre on the north, extending across Palestine 
to the river Jordan. On the north are the mountains of 
Lebanon, on the south those of Samaria. 

It is equal to the smoothest lawns of the finest parks of the 
world, and has an average breadth of twelve miles. Over it 
wander marauding Arabs, so that there is little cultivation. 
This plain was a battlefield from the time of Barak to Napo- 
leon. In 1868 the Bedouins were expelled, but within fifteen 
years they have once or twice overrun the plain. It will soon 
be extensively cultivated, and we saw the beginnings of several 
improvements. Storks and cranes were sailing majestically 
over our heads, or settling on projections, but scarcely a house 
was to be seen in the whole plain, except in the villages. 



Jezreel, Nain, and Cave of Witch of Endor. 443 

At Zerin we had a fine view. Near there is the field which 
Ahab wrested from Naboth, and there Jezebel lived. In the 
distance, through a romantic cleft in the hills, Mount Carmel 
and Nazareth appeared. Here Saul fought for the last time 
against the Philistines, and committed suicide. 

Seeing a Bedouin camp near Jezreel, I went with Selim to 
look into it. They had several dogs, and one with an ap- 
pearance of ferocity quite terrifying came out to attack us. 
As he approached and became irritating, our dragoman 
stooped and picked up a stone. Such a transition I never 
saw. Fancy a panther about to spring, each muscle 
stretched to its utmost tension, the mouth wide open, every 
tooth visible, the eyes red and almost leaping from their 
sockets; in a second the same animal cowed, its tail between 
its legs, its ears drooping, every muscle relaxed, moving 
away, and in another instant in a half-shamefaced way snuff- 
ing the ground as if nothing had happened. Selim said that 
all dogs in Palestine are afraid of a man, unless the man is 
afraid of the dog. 

The Bedouin tents are protected on the stormy, but open 
on the pleasant side. The women were scantily clad. In 
one tent lay several children and dogs asleep side by side. 
The whole aspect was that of indolence, stupidity, animalism. 
They were the lowest sort of wandering Bedouins, and, had I 
been alone, would have fallen upon me, stripped me, and left 
me more than half dead. 

From Zerin it is a short distance to the Fountain of Gideon, 
where the three hundred picked men lapped the water with 
their tongues as a dog lappeth; and we were within twenty 
minutes' walk of the spot where the cry was raised, "The 
sword of the Lord and of Gideon." 

We made our way to Sulem, the Shunem of the Bible. It 
is the prettiest small village in Palestine, is surrounded 
by a hedge of prickly pears, and near beautiful groves of 
lemon, orange, and citron trees. The traveler may tell of 
groves, but no proper impression of their beauty can be ob- 
tained till seen. This was the home of the Shunammite 
woman, and here Elisha raised her child from the dead. 
Sulem is full of beehives, and never did honey gatherers 



444 Travels in Three Continents. 

have finer pasturage than the flowery plain of Esdraelon 
affords. 

We saw the caravan route from Jerusalem to Egypt, 
traversed from long before David's time until now by an 
almost ceaseless procession. From our elevated view point 
upon the slope of the hill Moreh, near which the Midianites 
encamped the day before they were overthrown by Gideon, 
we could see several caravans winding slowly along; no better 
illustration of the old English phrase, "wending their way," 
could be imagined. 

We traveled for two or three miles after passing Shunem in 
a northeasterly direction, leaving the hills on the left. The 
plain is well watered, and from time to time the road crossed 
small streams, conducting us finally to Nam, the scene of one 
of the most pathetic incidents in the New Testament. 

This sacred site is on the slope of Little Hermon, around 
which we had traveled to reach it, and from its position com- 
mands a charming and instructive view. The place is insig- 
nificant and dirty, disfigured by heaps of rubbish and unro- 
mantic ruins, and has but a small population. On the west 
are ancient rock sepulchers. "Now when he came nigh to 
the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried 
out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and 
much people of the city was with her." To the Christian 
world this circumstance makes the otherwise obscure and 
worthless village a place of pilgrimage, a scene of interest, 
and a suggestion of divinity and immortality. 

As we entered, a boy, gayly dressed, ran along by the side 
of our horses, singing in a clear voice and in excellent 
English: "Jesus loves me, this I know." He did not beg, 
but accosted us with familiarity, yet without presumption. 
His complexion was dark, and his face covered with the incip- 
ient down that we connect with eighteen or twenty years of 
masculine age in this country. I asked him his age, and he 
said "eleven years." Dr. Bancroft declined to believe that 
he was telling the truth, whereupon up sprang an argument 
between us concerning the probability of it, the doctor declar- 
ing that in his opinion no boy eleven years old ever lived as 
large and apparently as mature as this boy. I maintained 



Jezreel, Nain, and Cave of Witch of Endor. 445 

that I had seen some fully his equal. Not long afterward we 
had an opportunity to ask a woman who knew him his age. 
She hesitated, the boy addressed her in Arabic, and she said 
in that tongue to the dragoman: " He is eleven years of age." 
As I was about to rejoice, Dr. Bancroft asked the dragoman 
what the boy had said in Arabic. The answer came: "He 
told her to say that he was eleven." So the case remained 
unsettled. He told us, what we had no reason to doubt, that 
he learned English in a school in Jerusalem. This elderly 
boy adhered to us until we left, singing from time to time, 
'■ Jesus loves me; " whatever his age may have been, he was 
as peculiar a specimen of human nature as we met. 

Nain has this advantage over many other sites of Scripture 
events: there is no doubt about its identity; and it is so situ- 
ated that the very spot where the miracle was wrought is 
certain. There is a Greek church, commemorating the rais- 
ing of the young man, which we found some difficulty in 
entering. It was at that time kept closed on account of 
trouble between the Greek patriarch in Jerusalem and the 
priest in charge, the latter having been removed. 

From this scene of New Testament history, a ride of less 
than an hour down into the plain, across it, and over some 
rocky elevations, conducted us to the location of several tragic 
incidents of the Old Testament. 

The authenticity of the site of Endor is practically undis- 
puted. The consecutive history of the place identifies it, 
references to it being so frequent that tradition has never 
divided. 

This is the probable site of the battle between Barak, 
Deborah, Sisera, and his host. Barak was encamped opposite 
on Mount Tabor. As Sisera and his host approached, a fear- 
ful storm raged. Barak swept down upon them and drove 
them back into the river Kishon, full of marshes and swamps. 
We had seen enough in Palestine to show us how this small 
brook in a few hours might become a river, " forming marshes 
and quicksands, into which one's horses sink knee-deep." As 
Barak's force pushed them, their nine hundred chariots of iron 
fled before him and his ten thousand men, and the next day 
Deborah sang the song of victory: "They fought from 



446 Travels in Three Continents. 

heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. The 
river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river 
Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength." 
Sisera leaped from his chariot, and wandered across the 
country in search of his tents, and Jael slew him. 

It was to this spot that Saul came years afterward to con- 
sult the woman forever to be known as "The Witch of En- 
dor." The mountain of Gilboa, at whose base Saul was 
encamped, was not such a situation as to encourage him with 
the hope of success against the mighty armies which the 
Philistines had gathered; for they were above him. God had 
refused to answer Saul, and, led by his men, he resorted to 
the most celebrated witch of the time, who had maintained her- 
self against his order that all such professed dealers in spirits 
should be destroyed out of the land. To reach her he had to 
travel about ten miles, for the Philistine camp was between 
his camp and Endor, and to reach the village he had to go 
around to the eastward of the hill Moreh, upon which we had 
been traveling. 

I have seen attempts in prose and poetry to paraphrase the 
Bible narrative of this visit, but in simplicity and vividness, as 
a mere work of art, it immeasurably surpasses the best of 
them. 

Endor is named from Dor, a spring. It is the dirtiest 
place that we saw in all Palestine, and the children are among 
the filthiest, and as much inclined to make nuisances of 
themselves as those in Egypt, crowding upon us like wild ani- 
mals. In the hillsides are caverns, but only one seemed 
at all suited for the abode of a human being. It has an 
opening out of which smoke could pass, and is a cow stable; 
tradition points it out as the home of the witch, and subse- 
quently inhabited for ages by human beings. We stood in the 
cave and recalled the narrative of the scene, and only needed 
a "secret, black, and midnight hag" brewing a charm within, 
and a giant, feeble, trembling, starving, worn with anxiety, 
with two men, climbing up the hill, and distant encampments, 
to typify the unavailing efforts of desperation. 



~* 





• s 



'' 








Tabor and Nazareth. 449 



CHAPTER LV. 
Tabor and Nazareth. 

Views Ascending — From the Summit — Ruins — Vesper Music in the Russian 
Convent Chapel — Strange Flowerpots — Lost in a Forest — Nazareth— Pop- 
ulation — Buildings — Mary's Well — Mounts of Precipitation — Reliques of 
the Christ. 

Riding for an hour and a half across the plain from the 
cave of the Witch of Endor brought us to the foot of Mount 
Tabor. It was nearly sundown, and a council was held 
to determine whether we could ascend, descend, and reach 
the place of encampment before overtaken by darkness; but, 
the sky being clear, it was decided to make the attempt. 
Tabor is the most symmetrical of the mountains of Palestine, 
and the zigzag path gives a succession of fine views. The sum- 
mit is only two thousand and eighteen feet above the Mediter- 
ranean, and it is but a little over a thousand above the plain. 

From it we caught the first glimpse of the Sea of Tiberias; 
and saw the battlefield of Barak and Sisera, Mount Carmel, 
the far-off mountains of the Hauran covered by tall oaks of 
Bashan, and towering above all, as Mont Blanc above the 
other Alps, was imperial Hermon, the one snow-clad moun- 
tain. 

Tabor is covered with ruins, and there are several monas- 
teries upon it. For some time after reaching the top we did 
not see a human being, but as we drew near the Russian convent 
the sweetest strains of music fell upon our ears, and hastening 
in we found three sisters engaged in the evening worship. No 
one was in the chapel except the janitor and these women. 
Apart from the surroundings, and without reference to the 
spell which they would naturally throw over everything, we 
agreed that we had seldom heard sweeter music. The soprano 
was birdlike; the contralto almost as deep as a basso. The 
Russians do not allow instrumental music; the large chapel 
nearly empty gave an apparent strength to their voices which, 



45' 



Travels in Three Continents. 



had the doors been closed, might have produced unpleasant 
echoes; but these being open, the music in that pure air was 
entrancing. So excellent was the discipline of the nuns, or so 
absorbed were they in their devotions, that they did not so 
much as cast a glance at us, though we tarried until the long 
service was finished. 

Upon the roof of one of the monasteries were long rows 
of flowerpots. There is not a conjuror, who had not an op- 
portunity of ascertaining the facts from some human being, 
who could conjecture from what those pots were made. Great 
is America! They were Pratt's Astral Oil cans, which illumi- 
nating fluid is used in various parts of the oriental world. 

It is possible that Tabor was selected for beauty and Carmel 
for majesty, as well as for the points of the compass. "As I 
live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, Surely as 
Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so 
shall he come." 

It was believed for ages that Tabor was the scene of the 
transfiguration, and as early as the sixth century the pilgrims 
erected three churches here. The scene of the transfigura- 
tion is now generally placed at a long distance from this point, 
though within a short time a strong tendency has appeared to 
return to the ancient tradition. 

It was now nearly dark, and the descent was made as rap- 
idly as possible. Soon after reaching the base, and passing 
through an olive orchard, we plunged into a dense forest, 
which the few lingering rays of the sun could not penetrate. 
Absolute darkness encompassed us. We continually lost our 
way and had difficulty and conflicts of judgment in finding it. 
An eccentric individual, named Hobib, who joined us at Jenin, 
had been over the route several times, but became confused 
and was so terrified as to be of little assistance. Meanwhile 
the whimperings and finally the howls of jackals made the 
night hideous. These whimperings are so peculiar that, on 
hearing them from the elevated height far above us, I said: 
"We are not far from a house; listen to those children." 
But in less than five minutes we knew that they were not 
human voices. At last Hobib became so terrified and so 
certain that we were lost, that Selim essayed to obtain informa- 



Tabor and Nazareth. 451 

tion from a house, the light of which we saw in the distance. 
A dialogue was carried on in Arabic, and we obtained sufficient 
directions to put us in the right road, and about ten o'clock 
entered the sacred city of Nazareth. 

A new difficulty then presented itself. The camp was not 
where Selim expected to find it, nor were there any people 
about the streets to direct us. But after much wandering 
and several inquiries at houses, some of which owing to the 
lateness of the hour were not answered pleasantly, and our 
movements being watched and howled at by a number of dogs, 
we reached the camp. 

Hobib, before leaving, presented us with a letter, which is 
here printed exactly as spelled in the document. It is a mix- 
ture of oriental shrewdness and simplicity. The frankness 
with which the signers state their desire to connect preaching 
with living in this world and "rest in their minds; " their in- 
vocations of the divine blessing; and their Uriah Heap-like 
humility are as remarkable as the orthography: 

" To our Dear Breathern & Sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
As we have the liberty to write you this petation to your mercy 
ful that we both are breathern from the Holy City Jerusalem 
and we are brought up in the English School of Pishop Gobat 
and after lefting the school we dwelt in Nablous which is called 
Schkem and one of us is born from his mothers womp in one 
hand and his wife from 3 months ago she left this world and 
now he has no pusnes enorder to get his daly food and he has 
3 sons in the Latan School and the other Brother his handwark 
Shewmaker and in this Contry his work is not enough for man- 
taning us we two and therefore we thaught in our minds to 
explain to you our own history to be plained to your mercyfuly 
hoping from your great kindness and from the Lord Jesus to 
put his strong feeling in your harts enorder to take us in any 
part of Europe by putting us in any wark or in a College to 
learn that by and by may we be able to preach the warld of 
God amongst the peoble and be rest in our minds and in our 
living in this warld and the last of our peseeging you if our 
desire will not be fullfiled we hope from your great mercy as 
to help us in any kind of favour by giving us some money help 



45 2 



Travels in Three Continents. 



to our food because we are nedy and who do mercy with us 
God may keep in his going and commingand be with him from 
all any harm and give him at last the enharitans of the King- 
dom of heaven your most opedent humble servent 

"John and Hobib the 

" Sons of Micheel Doorsy." 

Nazareth rivals Bethlehem in the devotion of pilgrims, and 
surpasses it in connection with the life of Christ. It was to a 




Nazareth. 



city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man 
whose name was Joseph, that the angel Gabriel was sent from 
God. From Nazareth Joseph went up to Bethlehem to be 
taxed with Mary, his espoused wife. Thence, being warned 
of God in a dream, they fled to Egypt, and after the return 
resumed their former abode in Nazareth. There Jesus dwelt 
until he entered upon his ministry, and so it was fulfilled which 
was spoken by the prophet: " He shall be called a Nazarene." 
It was from Nazareth that he went to be baptized of John 
in the Jordan when he was beginning his public ministry. He 
then returned " to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; " 
but, though he returned unto his own, his own received him 
not. So he left that city and went to Capernaum and other 
places, going back to Nazareth once more, nearly a year later. 
But the people with whom he had lived twenty-eight years be- 
came enraged as he expounded the Scriptures in their syna- 



Tabor and Nazareth. 453 

gogue, and "thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the 
brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might 
cast him down headlong." 

Never afterward, as far as can be learned from the New 
Testament, did he visit the place. 

From most points of view Nazareth seems far up upon the 
summit of a mountain, but it is really on the side and sur- 
rounded by hills, which "seem as if they had met to form an 
inclosure." Stanley counted fifteen, which he describes as 
gently rounded. When we were there they were covered with 
rich grass, and nothing more charming can be found in Ver- 
mont or in the lake districts of England than these green hills. 

The views from the streets of Nazareth are beautiful. 
Glimpses are to be obtained of every part of the ground over 
which we had traveled, and of expanses which we were yet to 
explore. From the hills above the city we saw Tabor, Her- 
mon, and Carmel, and enjoyed a fine view of the Mediterra- 
nean Sea. In ancient times its population was rough and a 
terror to surrounding villages. The proverb which fell from 
the lips of Nathanael, " Can any good thing come out of Naz- 
areth ? " finds its explanation in its wild mountain situation 
and the corresponding strength and ferocity of its inhabitants. 

We were here in the town in which Jesus lived for more than 
a quarter of a century, amid that half-savage population, iso- 
lated, obscure, quiet. So little is told of him that a single 
page might contain it all. 

W T e had arrived at the time to behold nature in its brightest 
hue. The fig and olive trees, the cactus hedges, and all the 
flowers of spring wore their most beautiful garments. Fine 
opportunities for studying the different classes of population 
Avere afforded by the fact that the town is divided into three 
quarters — one devoted to the Latins, another to the Greeks, 
and the other to the Mohammedans. The Turkish officials 
put the population at ten or twelve thousand; others declare 
that there are not more than six thousand, and divide them 
thus: 2,000 Mohammedans, 2,500 Orthodox Greeks, 800 Lat- 
ins, 100 Protestants, and two or three hundred of other sects. 
The Jews are so few in number as not to receive enumeration. 
We did not see more than five or six. 



454 Travels in Three Continents. 

The largest buildings are the Latin monastery and hospital. 
The Church of the Annunciation is within the monastery. 
Between the altars are steps leading to the Chapel of the Annun- 
ciation, where is this Latin inscription : ' ' Hie Verbum Caro 
Factum Est" (Here the Word was made flesh). The places 
are indicated thus: There is a round column called the col- 
umn of Gabriel. This is supposed to mark the spot where 
the angel stood. Eighteen inches distant, hanging from the 
ceiling, is a fragment of a column which is said to be miracu- 
lously supported, and to distinguish the spot where the Virgin 
sat when she received the communication of the angel. Here 
also is the spot where the house of the Virgin is said to have 
stood. According to the claim of the Roman Catholics, the 
house is in Loretto, Italy. The tradition is that on May 10, 
1291, angels carried off the building to prevent the Mohammed- 
ans, who had captured the city, from profaning it. They took 
it first to Tersato, in Dalmatia; there it remained some years, 
and was then taken to Loretto. In 147 1 the Church accepted 
the miracle and officially confirmed it. As the Latins cannot 
pretend to possess the house, they show the rock on which 
it rested. Stanley makes a dispassionate examination of the 
question, and shows that no pilgrim who visited Nazareth 
from the fourth to the sixteenth century alludes to any house 
of Joseph as standing or having been there within human 
memory, that the records in Italy contain no mention of it till 
the fifteenth century. He then confronts it, as it stands at 
Loretto, with the place as it appears at Nazareth, showing that 
the house in Italy, being 36 x 17, could not possibly have stood 
there, and that if it did stand where they say it did, it " would 
have closed up with blank walls the very passages by which 
alone the communication could be effected." He concludes 
that it is the most incredible of all ecclesiastical legends, and 
apologizes for attempting any detailed refutation of it because 
of the pathetic devotion of the Italian people. 

The Roman Catholics also show us the workshop of Joseph; 
it has only been about two hundred years since the story arose. 
They claim to have the table on which Christ dined with his 
apostles both before and after the resurrection; it is a block of 
chalk eleven and a half feet Ion? and nine and a half feet broad. 



Tabor and Nazareth. 455 

At the other end of the town is the Church of the Annuncia- 
tion of the Greeks, and this in all probability, is in the right 
place, for the most ancient tradition is that the angel accosted 
Mary as she was drawing water. 

There is but one spring of importance in Nazareth, and that 
from the earliest times has been called Mary's Well. It is 
near the Greek Church of the Annunciation. We came upon 
that well unexpectedly, and saw pilgrims bathing their eyes 
and heads, and many Nazarene women drawing water. Noth- 
ing in all Palestine is more certain than that the mother of 
Jesus, with her infant son, went to and from that spring. 
Nor is anything much more probable than that the scene which 
we witnessed was in all essential particulars similar to that 
which daily took place at the same abundant spring in all the 
years of Christ's life there. 

The gardens of Nazareth are beautiful and kept constantly 
green by the use of water from the spring. Mary's Well, 
take it all in all, is the most beautiful and touching relic of 
Christ which the city affords. It is more than likely that our 
Lord's daily experience with that ever-flowing stream sug- 
gested the frequent references to wells of water springing up 
into everlasting life; for it was his custom to draw symbols of 
spiritual truth from the natural scenery with which he had 
been familiar. 

The most darkly tragical of the reminiscences is the deter- 
mination of the mob of his fellow-townsmen (who could not 
bear either his spiritual claims or his elevation) to cast him 
headlong over the cliff. We made no journeys to the differ- 
ent sites of supposed Mounts of Precipitation. We could see 
several from the city: though some one must have been meant, 
and at the time was preeminently appropriate and accessible, 
there are so many, any of which might have served the pur- 
pose, that no idea resting upon any probable basis can be 
formed. The Maronites have built a church near a hill which, 
in the opinion of some critics, is a much more likely place 
than the one generally pointed out, near which we passed 
when riding around the mountain of Endor. 

I approached Nazareth with a spirit of hunger for some- 
thing unmistakably connected with the life of Christ, a desire 



456 Travels in Three Continents. 

beautifully described in a poem to be found in a little book, 
called Reliques of the Christ, written by Dr. Denis Wortman : 

" I wonder if in Nazareth, 

By heedless feet o'errun, 
There lingers still some dear relique 

Of work by Joseph's Son ; 
Some carved thought, some tool of toil, 

Some house with stones grown gray, 
A home he built who had not where 

His weary head to lay. 

" I visit Nazareth, ask each man, 

Each mound, each stone, each wind; 
' I pray ye, help some precious trace 

Of your great Builder find ; ' 
Alas ! ye listeners to my plaint, 

The startled silence saith : 
' What once was false, is now too true — 
No Christ in Nazareth ! ' " 

While it is true, so far as any work of his hands there is con- 
cerned, there is nothing to satisfy the longing of the Christian, 
still one does not carry a dissatisfied feeling away, for he 
finds what he desires in the place itself. Nazareth never 
was a large place; the situation rendered it impossible. Walk- 
ing, as we did, through all the streets and around the sub- 
urbs, over every point, our feet must have pressed the very 
spots over which he walked; but even that needs spiritualizing 
to make it preeminently strengthening to faith. It is not that 
the Bible relates so faithfully the facts of nature in Pales- 
tine that makes it a book for the soul, but that it describes 
man and supplies his deepest needs. As we take leave of 
Nazareth, where memories crowd so thickly upon us, and 
where, because much has been expected, there may be a feel- 
ing of vague disappointment that more is not found, we cannot 
do better than to quote another stanza of the poem above re- 
ferred to, which has in it the exultant triumph of faith over 
sight: 

" But, O my soul, why thus cast down ? 

A truer Nazareth scan ; 
What if thou find no time-spoiled work 

Of Christ, the Son of man ? 



Tabor and Nazareth. 457 

Joy yet to thee ! lift up thy head ! 

Cast raptured gaze abroad, — 
See in this vast Christ-builded world 

Signs of the Son of God." 

As we began to strike tents in the morning a motley crowd 
assembled, watching until we departed. The arrival, move- 
ments, and departure of travelers furnished the chief amuse- 
ment of the idlers and urchins of Nazareth. Several tribes 
were represented in the crowd, and some of the children were 
bright, pleasing in appearance, less boisterous than European 
children, and more graceful and winning in manner than most 
who have an eye to reward. They could beg without seeming 
to do so, and the lowest were content to get the food which 
the cook would otherwise have thrown away. Nowhere did 
we receive so much attention from spectators. 



458 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER LVI. 
From Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee by Way of Cana. 

Kefr-Kenna — Mount of Beatitudes — First View of the Sea of Galilee — Ti- 
berias — Description of the Sea — History of the Town — Grave of Maimoni- 
c i es — Two Protestant Services on Sunday — The Protestant Mission in 
Tiberias. 

On leaving Nazareth we set out for Cana of Galilee, whose 
modern name is Kefr-Kenna. Passing by Mary's Well, in 
about an hour and a half we reached the village. Before 
doing so we passed the birthplace of the prophet Jonah, a 
genuine tradition with scriptural support. It is also one of 
the places which claim his tomb. Here is his supposed sepul- 
cher on the hill, and visible at a considerable distance. 

Is Kefr-Kenna the original Cana? For a long time there was 
no dispute upon the point. Every marriage ceremony recalls 
the fact that Christ performed his first miracle here, and at 
a wedding. This was the native place of Nathanael, "an 
Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. " Christ was here when 
he spoke the word which healed the nobleman's son who was 
sick at Capernaum; and here the nobleman exhibited a faith 
which made his name immortal, and forever an example and 
encouragement to all Christians. 

Dr. Robinson denies that this is the site, and locates it 
at Cana-El-Jaeliel, about nine miles from Nazareth. Other 
critics, having considered all that Drs. Robinson and Porter 
have to offer, believe the claims to be about equally balanced. 

In this town the children raised a cry which reminded us 
of the " Howadji " which we had heard so often in Egypt: 
"Hadji ! Hadji! " With this cry they ran after the traveler, 
offering water and expecting a gratuity. In the Greek church 
they pretend to have one of the waterpots that were filled 
when Jesus turned the water into wine. Such pots have been 
shown all along, and the only thing probable is that from the 




••■•%'■ 




From Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. 461 

unchanging customs of the country it may reasonably be in- 
ferred that the original pots were of this kind. 

Passing on, the Horns of Hattin, a hill with two peaks, 
appeared. Its peculiar shape makes it very deceiving as to 
height. It is believed by many to be the Mount of Beati- 
tudes; that here the Sermon on the Mount was preached, 
and the five thousand were fed. The Crusaders first affirmed 
it to be the spot, and it wonderfully agrees with the Bible 
narrative. 

Near where we then were the last great struggle of the Cru- 
saders took place, eight hundred and six years ago. 

It was not far from the Horns of Hattin that the Knights 
Templars, with the Bishop of Lydda, who bore the holy cross, 
assembled; but they were all slain or captured by the victorious 
Saladin, since when, with occasional brief intervals, the sword 
of Mohammed has held the Holy Land. 

Riding rapidly on across the plain, which gave us the best 
opportunity we had had since leaving Jerusalem of seeing 
what our horses could do, with the discovery that they were 
not equal to much, we began to have fine views of Hermon; the 
mountains of Galilee; and finally the whole Sea of Tiberias was 
spread out before us, a prospect very similar to that which we 
had after leaving the Convent of Mar Saba on our way to the 
Dead Sea. We continued to rise to the summit of the ridge, 
and then descended almost to the lake, which was more than 
a thousand feet below us when we had the first view of it. 
Our destination was Tiberias, which we reached before 
sunset, finding the camp already pitched along the shore to 
the right of the town and half a mile below it. This was 
Saturday evening, and where could we have had a more beau- 
tiful place for a Sabbath rest than the shores of the Sea of 
Galilee? 

Our tents were close to the celebrated hot baths, which from 
ancient times have been in high repute for the cure of rheu- 
matism and similar diseases. The reputation of Tiberias is 
not good in a sanitary point of view, the place being malarious, 
filthy, and verminous, so that travelers generally encamp at 
some distance from it. We were delighted with the situation 

chosen. Below, at a little distance, was a party of ladies and 
24 



462 Travels in Three Continents. 

gentlemen and children from Philadelphia, Pa., among them 
being two clergymen of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 
Their cavalcade was large, and they traveled with the greatest 
comfort and without haste. 

Before retiring for the night we explored the little city, rid- 
ing along the shore of the lake on an excellent road. 

Some have gone into raptures over the charms of the Sea of 
Galilee, while others have disparaged it as not having any at- 
tractions which would make it noted were it not for its Scrip- 
tural associations. 

My impression is that in any part of the world it would be 
thought charming. Though inferior to the Swiss lakes in 
grandeur, and to the Italian in sweetness, and without islands, 
yet the vivid green of the shores, the moderate height and 
occasional abruptness of the banks, the soft blue tint of the 
water, and the effects produced by the brilliancy of the sunlight 
and the rapid evaporation, make a picture not to be truthfully 
described as monotonous or otherwise than as a scene of 
natural interest worthy the attention of poet, artist, and lover 
of the beautiful. 

Far away uprears imposing Hermon, while mountains 
flanked by hills limit the horizon. Like Lake Geneva it is 
exposed to sudden changes, the result of the high winds which 
sometimes rise, and Byron's words: 

" The scene is changed, and such a change ! 
O storm and night and darkness, 
Ye are wondrous strong !" 

may find illustration here. We were not fortunate enough to 
see a genuine storm on the lake, but the configuration explains 
itself to every eye familiar with the storm-generating forces- 
latent in lakes that are in the vicinity of mountains, and from 
whose shores rise irregular hills. 

At night the spectacle was subduing and thought-provok- 
ing. The starlit sky reflected in the absolutely smooth surface 
of water gave the effect of two firmaments, and it was as easy 
to study the heavens by looking downward as by looking into 
the glass of a reflecting telescope. 

Less than seven miles in the widest place, not more than 



From Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. 465 

twelve and a half miles long, shaped like a pear with its pointed 
end to the south, is this sacred sea; seven hundred feet below 
the level of the Mediterranean, its average depth is about one 
hundred and sixty feet. The surrounding region is volcanic, 
and earthquakes have been common. Fifty-three years agO' 
half the population of the city lost their lives in a terrible 
shock which threw down the walls and many of the houses and 
shattered the castle. 

Tiberias is supposed to have been built by Herod Antipas, 
in about the year 20 of the Christian era, in honor of Tiberius, 
the Roman emperor. The ancient city was one of the most 
prosperous — in fact, the chief city of Galilee. After Jerusalem 
was destroyed it became the center of Jewish dignity, wealth, 
and learning. Ruins are scattered for miles along the shore of 
the lake, but require an expert to explain their significance. 

At the present time nearly two thirds of the population of the 
city are Jews. Many are from Europe, especially Poland, and 
belong to the sect of the Ashkenazim, though the same term 
is applied to Russian, Hungarian, Bohemian, Moravian, Ger- 
man, and Dutch Jews. The rest belong to the sect of the 
Sephardim — Spanish-Portuguese Jews. The Talmudists made 
their headquarters in this place; the two famous books of the 
Jews, the Mishna and the Masorah, were published here; and 
for centuries the Sanhedrim convened in Tiberias. 

We visited the Jewish burial ground, where distinguished 
modern Jews are buried, especially those known as Tal- 
mudists. One name is honored both by Jews and Christians, 
Maimonides, who died six hundred and eighty-six years 
ago, a man worthy to be mentioned among scholars and 
philosophers of all ages. The others are buried in graves, but 
his body is encased in a somewhat ornate sarcophagus. A 
citizen gave us a tradition that when his body was brought 
there on camels, they went round in a circle, refusing to go 
away from the place where he is buried, or to carry the body 
farther, from which it was inferred that God miraculously 
indicated the site for his interment! 

When we had been in camp a short time a gentleman called 
and announced that he was in Tiberias as a missionary of one of 
the Presbyterian churches in Scotland, and on finding that we 



466 Travels in Three Continents. 

were ministers, expressed an earnest desire that we would con- 
duct the service on the next morning, which was the Sabbath. 

A message was received later from the adjacent tent, in- 
forming us that the services of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
would be read there the next morning, and inviting us to at- 
tend. The acceptance of the former invitation made it neces- 
sary to decline the latter. It was pleasing to have the oppor- 
tunity for religious worship in our own language amid such 
scenes. The service was held in a little upper room, the resi- 
dence of the missionary, and the congregation numbered thir- 
teen. It was a new sensation to worship within sight of the 
sea on which Jesus walked and the shores along which were 
wrought some of his greatest miracles. 

The founding of a mission in Tiberias seems to me the most 
hopeless work as yet undertaken by Protestantism. The Jews 
of this city are not surpassed in bigotry in the world ; the 
Mohammedan population is inaccessible ; the climate for a 
considerable portion of the year is so insalubrious that the 
missionary has to reside in Safed, a high mountain city. The 
principles of radiation from centers of seed-sowing, modifica- 
tion by general influences, the aid of the adherence of the gov- 
ernment to the new religion, so useful in India, and some other 
parts of the world, cannot be applied here; and if anything 
important shall arise from this mission, it will be a triumph of 
grace and perseverance. A Syrian physician, educated in the 
Protestant College at Beirut, whom we met in the congrega- 
tion, cautiously intimated that he thought "some time some- 
thing might be done." 



From the Sea of Galilee to Hermon. 467 



CHAPTER LVII. 
From the Sea of Galilee to Hermon. 

Four Hours upon Galilee — A Fishing Boat — Ruins of Capernaum — Vivid- 
ness of Bible Narratives — Ain-et-Tin — Road to Banias — Encampment of 
Bedouins— Joseph's Well— Waters of Merom— Dan— Banias— Alleged 
Attempt at Robbery — Fountain of the Jordan— Probable Scene of the 
Transfiguration — Druses and Maronites — Ascending Hermon — Traditional 
Scene of Saul's Conversion. 

In the time of Christ this little lake was the center of great 
activity. Nine cities stood upon its shores. Six — the two Beth- 
saidas, Capernaum, Chorazin, Tiberias, and Magdala — being 
important. Now the population is small, and nothing remains 
of these once flourishing places except huts and shapeless 
ruins. There were three boats upon the lake; we procured 
one and spent four hours in visiting the different points. It 
was an uncouth craft, and though several men were employed 
to row it, they could not make a speed of more than two and 
a half miles per hour. At last we reached the upper end of the 
sea, and the point where the muddy Jordan plunges in with 
astonishing force. For more than a mile its dirty waters pol- 
lute the lake, but it emerges from the other end as pure as the 
sparkling Saco or the Bear Camp which Whittier describes in 
"Among the Hills." As we sat upon the shore we beheld in 
fancy the long distance already traversed from the Dead Sea 
up through the beautiful valley of the Jordan to the Sea of 
Galilee. It is not wonderful that the Jews should revere the 
Jordan, for there is no river like it in the world;— plunging 
through this depressed basin, maintaining its identity as it 
rushes through the lake, and hastening on to be forever 
swallowed up in the awful basaltic abyss to which the world 
has given the appalling but truthful name — The Dead Sea. 

On Galilee we witnessed a scene never to be forgotten. 
Seven men were fishing in a rude boat; some were naked, 
others nearly so, all bareheaded and barefooted. The bottom 



468 Travels in Three Continents. 

of their boat was nearly covered with live fish, which they 
had just caught. The Lake of Gennesaret to-day abounds 
with fish of many kinds, some not usually found except in 
tropical countries. Few are caught, because there are few 
to catch them. How vividly this scene brought back the 
gospel narrative. As they fished, so did Simon Peter; as we 
stood upon the shore and looked upon them, so did the 
greatest One whose feet ever trod the earth stand, as he 
said: "Children, have ye any meat?" 

Had we desired, we could not have visited the shore oppo- 
site to that upon which we were encamped; — at least without a 
large force to protect us, it being in possession of wild, 
marauding Bedouins. 

The ruins of Capernaum are only about two miles from the 
Jordan. The thistles grow high enough to hide them all, but 
to those who are willing to study patiently they speak im- 
pressively of the things that have been, and help the Bible 
student to recall the scenes of which he reads. Here are 
plain indications of a synagogue, and many antiquarians 
believe it to be the ruins of the very building in which Christ 
preached the sermon in John vi. 

Chorazin is supposed to have been about two and a half 
miles from Capernaum, and Bethsaida not very far away. 
Jesus spent so much time at Capernaum that it was called 
"his own city," and his opportunities of spreading the truth 
were far greater here than they could have been in isolated 
Nazareth. Here Jesus found Peter, James, and John; and his 
first interview and the miracle of the astonishing draught of 
fishes are described in the fifth of Luke. When Jesus "went 
into a ship and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the 
shore," a large vessel must not be imagined, but a small boat 
with one or two sails. It was on this sea that he slept, and 
arose and rebuked the winds of the sea; here that Peter saw 
him walking, and essayed to go to him, but sinking cried: 
" Lord, save, or I perish." From Capernaum Jesus sent 
Peter down to the sea to catch " the fish that first cometh up: 
and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of 
money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee." 

There seems to be a discrepancy between the accounts 




wS0 




w-. 




**W 



■ 




From the Sea of Galilee to Hermon. 471 

given by the evangelists of the locality of the miracle where 
the devils were allowed to go into the swine, and ran violently 
down a steep place into the sea; and ancient manuscripts and 
traditions do not materially assist in settling the question. 
Some archaeologists try to make it appear that the swine had 
a sharp gallop of about two hours before they plunged into the 
water; others following the direct statements of Matthew have 
no difficulty in determining the place. 

Speaking generally, the gospels would serve as a guidebook 
to the traveler upon these shores. No change has taken place 
except in the distribution of population and the decay of cities. 
I was continually astonished by the graphic descriptions of the 
New Testament. In the two or three days we were in the 
vicinity of the Lake of Gennesaret we were constantly 
absorbed in the coincidences and sometimes startled by the 
sudden vivid impressions of Bible realities with which the air, 
the water, the hills, the sky, and the shores throbbed. 

At night the cries of jackals and the howls of hyenas as 
they came forth from their caverns, waking from their all-day 
sleep after their manner, to seek their prey in darkness, re- 
minded us even more forcibly of the half-wild character of 
the whole region. 

The second point selected for our camp was Ain-et-Tin, or 
Fig Spring. Papyrus, of which were made the manuscripts of 
antiquity, still grows plentifully in this vicinity. The region is 
marshy, and, though the place is pleasant for camping on a 
warm day, at night it becomes damp. 

When we could linger no longer we took the most direct road 
to Banias, which soon became very bad, though it is the ancient 
caravan route from Damascus to Egypt. We passed a huge 
encampment of agricultural Bedouins, and, for the first time, 
saw among these ancient nomads something like living. 
They had control or actual possession of the plain for miles, 
their horses were fine, and the appearance of prosperity was 
pleasant to behold. From the site of this encampment the 
backward view included the Sea of Galilee and its shores 
and the distant mountains which we had descended from Naz- 
areth. The forward glance included Hermon with its white 
flitter and Lebanon with its cedars. 



472 Travels in Three Continents. 

At the Khan Jubb Yusef (Joseph's Well) they show the pit, 
certainly deep enough to put Joseph in, but as the Arabian geog- 
raphers were ignorant of the situation of the Hebrews in his 
time their opinions on this subject are worthless. 

Leaving the dirty khan we soon came to the Lake Huleh 
region, having risen nearly a thousand feet since we left the 
Sea of Galilee, for this lake — four and a half by three and a 
half miles, and ten or twelve feet deep — is three hundred feet 
above the Mediterranean. This is spoken of in Joshua xi as 
the waters of Merom. The buffaloes of the Bedouins wallow 
in the swamps, and pelicans, ducks, and other waterfowl are 
numerous. Here Joshua overthrew Jabin, King of Hazor. 

We took luncheon at Dan, now known as Tel-el-kadi, the 
" Hill of the Judge," a beautiful as well as an interesting spot 
historically. The mound is about sixty feet high, and nearly 
a quarter of a mile wide; beneath it "bursts a beautiful crys- 
tal spring," and a huge pine tree stands there, with charming 
little streams running apparently free among its roots. This 
is one of the fountains of the Jordan. The Phoenicians called 
this place Laish. The Danites were a desperate clan. They 
slew the people and erected the images they had stolen on the 
way. One of the golden calves of Jeroboam was set up here, and 
hither came Benhadad and brought the Danites into subjection. 

A Mohammedan sepulcher under a magnificent oak near by 
is an impressive object. That strange anticipative fancy 
which many love to indulge concerning the place and circum- 
stances of their burial, could hardly select a more attractive 
couch than this on which to sleep the years away. 

While at Dan we observed Bedouins of the better sort, who 
were watering their horses. At a distance they appeared 
savage, but, on scanning them narrowly, signs of a native po- 
liteness and kindness were seen. I was particularly pleased 
with the tenderness shown by the women to their infants. 
Children everywhere are cheerful if in health, and the faces of 
these little Bedouins needed only washing to compare well with 
those of boys and girls anywhere. 

When we left Dan we passed out of Palestine. As we 
began to ascend Hermon, scenes of singular beauty and 
freshness came into view; brooks emerging from deep, green 



From the Sea of Galilee to Hermon. 473 

woods; here and there an incipient cataract, filling the 
groves with melodious rhythm ; breezes rustling among the 
leaves, mingled with the songs of birds; wild flowers of every 
hue, exhaling a fragrance which brought back the sweet per- 
fume of the early buds of spring in the far-off home beyond 
the great deep. 

That night we encamped at Banias, having ascended nearly 
five hundred feet in perpendicular height since starting from 
Dan. It lies between two valleys, and near a third; hence it 
has been called " a triangular terrace in a nook of the Hermon 
mountains. " The slope is cultivated nearly all the way from 
the plain, and the abundance of water in that climate covers 
the entire region either with woods or other forms of vegetable 
life, reminding one of the vales and hills of Ireland. 

The ancient name of Banias was Paneas, and there are his- 
toric remains of a civilization other than that of the Hebrews 
and the Phoenicians. Originally it was the name of a district 
which fell to Philip the Tetrarch, the son of Herod, who added 
to it and called it Caesarea; the word Philippi was appended 
both to honor him and to distinguish it from the Caesarea in 
Palestine, upon the Mediterranean. At present it is a village 
of sixty or seventy houses, a center of trade to the surrounding 
country, and we were interested in looking into the stores 
where Manchester prints are sold, and an assortment of other 
familiar articles. Ruins are numerous, and far above towers a 
castle, more than a thousand feet long, whose foundations are 
of large blocks beautifully wrought. On one side the wall is 
built on a precipice six hundred feet high. Near Banias are 
the ruins of a temple of Pan. 

While we were sleeping, the Turkish guard suddenly began 
firing and aroused the encampment. According to his tale 
two men were attempting to enter the tent to steal. One of 
our friends had been robbed a few nights before. His wife 
had wrapped her jewels in a skirt, which was stolen; but the 
thieves, not having any appreciation of Western feminine ap- 
parel, threw it away. Some one found and brought it back a 
day or two afterward, with its contents, worth several thou- 
sand dollars, untouched. Whether there was an attempt to 
rob us we could not be certain. The euard may have desired 



474 Travels in Three Continents. 

to elevate himself in our eyes in order to receive a reward for 
watchfulness. Such marauding attacks are not uncommon, 
and without bribing the officials it is difficult to secure the 
making of vigilant efforts to capture the thieves or recover the 
property. 

We climbed to the entrance of the cavern from which bursts 
forth one of the chief sources of the Jordan. Near it are 
ancient niches, a few being in the form of shells. Over one is 
an inscription in Greek: "Priest of Pan." We cannot find a 
specific connection between Banias and Bible history, but there 
are several passages which indicate that Joshua's victories in- 
cluded this region. Biblical geographers consider Baal-Gad 
the same as Baal-Hermon, a title which shows that long before 
Greek times Baal was worshiped here. After Titus destroyed 
Jerusalem he came here and celebrated his victory with gladi- 
atorial combats, in which Jews fought with wild beasts and 
with each other. During the Crusades it was the rallying 
place for Christians, and was frequently captured, but was 
conquered by them later, and again retaken by the Moham- 
medans. 

The grotto from which the fountain of the Jordan gushes 
through upland meadows of mint and oleander thickets, re- 
sembles an artificial excavation somewhat in ruins. Masses of 
broken rocks render the entrance almost impassable, and al- 
most hide it; but underneath these it forms a kind of arch. 
Those who cannot go there may find analogies in the sources 
of the San Antonio and San Pedro Rivers, of Texas; the Hud- 
son and the Delaware give suggestions to those willing to 
penetrate to their springs — the former in the heart of the 
Adirondacks, the latter in the region of the Catskills. 

The rush of the Jordan fountains is vastly greater than these 
last, though the Texas rivers lack only the grotto and the ele- 
vation to complete the parallel. Much more water flows forth 
at Dan than here, but it does not unite with these fountains 
through any well-marked channel. The water from Banias 
unites with two other sources four or five miles below Dan. 
The river thus formed is, at the confluence, about forty-five 
feet wide. As all the water which flows from under the hill at 
Dan finds its way into the plain and thence into the other 



From the Sea of Galilee to Hermon. 475 

streams indirectly, the sources of the Jordan are the fountain 
at Banias, the Hashbanny which rises " higher up in the moun- 
tains," and the fountain at Dan. Josephus always speaks of 
the last named as "the little Jordan," and it has been long 
emphasized in common language as the source, since it pro- 
duces more water than the other two; but the height from 
which they start gives an impetus which maintains their 
separate streams. 

We had now followed the sacred river of the Jews from its 
grave in the Dead Sea to its birthplace far up among the moun- 
tains of Hermon. Every simile that poet could desire is 
here — fountains, tributaries, brooklets, cataracts, "stormy 
banks," "swellings," swift, resistless current, treacherous 
depths, quicksands, the blue, placid, but deceitful lake, inun- 
dations, wooded shores, now pellucid and again turbid waters, 
and last the dreadful sulphurous saline abyss, fitly named the 
Dead Sea. 

While Old Testament references are vague, those of the New 
are quite distinct. It was at Q~esarea Philippi — that is, in this 
immediate vicinity. — that Jesus asked his disciples, saying: 
"Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" and here 
that Simon Peter answered and said: "Thou art the Christ, 
the Son of the living God;" here that Jesus said: "I say also 
unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build 
my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 
Whether Jesus came into the city cannot be ascertained. 
Near it was a mighty rock, upon which the temple of Augustus, 
which Herod the Great had erected, then stood, above the 
source of the Jordan. Inscribed around the majestic dome of 
St. Peter's at Rome are these words in mosaic: il Tit es Petrus 
et super hanc petram cedificabo ecclesiam meam, et tibi dabo claves 
regni ccelorum" ("Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will 
build my Church, and I give to thee the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven "). It is thought by some that this inscription may 
have been suggested by this rock, which also may have influ- 
enced the form of the conversation. The Transfiguration is 
by most modern critics believed to have taken place here. 
The earliest traditions unquestionably placed it on Tabor; and 
even those who cannot acquiesce in that opinion have agreed 



476 Travels in Three Continents. 

that no mountain would so fully "satisfy our feelings in this 
respect as the lofty, majestic, beautiful Tabor." It is ob- 
jected that so early as the time when Tabor fell into the hands 
of the Israelites, recorded in the Book of Joshua, it was occu- 
pied by a town and by fortresses; and Josephus declares that 
he strengthened the fortification of a city there about A. D. 60. 
By the side of these statements is placed the account of the 
Transfiguration, which says that "Jesus took his disciples up 
into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them." 
From Matt, xvii we would infer that it was upon the summit. 
What, now, is to be said for Caesarea Philippi ? The chief point 
made is that our Lord's miracle immediately preceding was at 
that place. Matt, xvi, 3, represents him as coming into the 
coasts of Caesarea Philippi. Mark viii, 27, also places him there. 

Mount Tabor is a little more than fifty miles from Mount 
Hermon. If our Lord were represented as ascending the 
Mount of Transfiguration immediately after the miracle which 
he performed in Caesarea Philippi, the case would be clear 
against Tabor; but Matthew (xvii, 1) says: "And after six 
days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and 
bringeth them up into an high mountain apart. " Mark uses the 
same expression, except "leadeth them up into an high moun- 
tain apart by themselves. " Luke says: "About an eight days 
after these sayings, he took " them. There was ample time for 
the journey to Tabor; an average walk of nine miles a day 
would have accomplished it. As for the fortifications on 
Tabor, it is not certain or even probable that no solitary spot 
upon the extreme summit existed where the scene could have 
taken place privately. The almost inaccessible summits of 
Hermon tower more than seven thousand feet above Caesarea 
Philippi, and the language of the gospels represents a separate 
mountain, and an ascent of it. 

Though the question cannot be decided positively, the proba- 
bilities seem stronger for Tabor than for the vicinity of Banias. 

The advocates of the former may sing: 

"When, in ecstasy sublime, 
Tabor's glorious steep I climb, 
At the too transporting light, 
Darkness rushes o'er my sight." 



From the Sea of Galilee to Hermon. 

Those who prefer the latter may chant: 

" O Master, it is good to be 
Entranced, enrapt, alone with thee ; 
And watch thy glistering raiment glow 
Whiter than Hermon's whitest snow." 



477 




Mount Hermon. 

It was a steady climb up the slope of Hermon over bad 
roads. As we descended, a romantic object came in sight — a 
mill in the outskirts of a Druse village, Mejdel, in a plantation 
of silver poplars. These are a mysterious people, and to- 
gether with the Maronites, their traditional foes, are frequently 
spoken of in dispatches concerning Syrian troubles. Their 
reciprocal hatred is historical. 

The Druses are a sect of Mohammedans, founded by 
Hakem, a native of Cairo, a Fatimite Caliph. 

I met a Druse, but could not draw much solid information 
from him. Draping all their forms in mystery, and employing 
figurative language, they exert a great influence upon their fol- 



47^ Travels in Three Continents. 

lowers by successive degrees of initiation. Among other 
strange things which they believe are the doctrine of the trans- 
migration of souls, and the notion that there is always the 
same number of men living in the world. Tobacco they utterly 
renounce and prohibit. They worship in solitary chapels, 
whose location is chosen in desolate places, and personally 
they are ambitious, brave, hospitable, and amiable. Many 
have departed from the region through which we were passing, 
and settled in the Hauran Mountains. 

Maronites form a curious Roman Catholic sect, dating from 
400, but they were not wholly subjected by the Roman 
Catholics until about three hundred years ago, and have 
always demanded and received special privileges from the 
pope. The lower clergy are allowed to marry, and instead of 
reading mass in Latin they are allowed to read it in Syrian. 
Intellectually they have attained little development, but are 
energetic. I procured one of their catechisms, and it is upon 
a plan which leaves little or nothing to choose between them 
and their enemies. The Roman Catholics have been endeav- 
oring to induce them to say mass in Latin, and the graduates 
of the Maronite College in Rome comply with the instruction, 
except in the reading of the gospel, which is in Arabic. 

In i860 the Druses attacked them with fury, and though far 
inferior in numbers destroyed their capital and massacred many. 

Hermon is worthy of the title of the Mont Blanc of Pal- 
estine, for it extends about twenty miles and is divided into 
three peaks, the highest of which rises ten thousand feet above 
the level of the sea — a solid mass of limestone with layers of 
chalk, the greater part of it covered with snow. As formerly, 
the snow of Hermon is used to cool summer beverages. Leb- 
anon is a few hundred feet higher, but its position is less com- 
manding. 

We proceeded on our way to Damascus. Ascending and 
descending, never out of sight of this white dome, turning 
our eyes from beautiful flowers to volcanic rocks, and from 
these to curious piles of stone marking the sites of ancient 
villages; and from these to varieties of trees which we had not 
noticed before in Syria, among them myrtles; and again to ex- 
tinct craters, until finally the plain, bathed in the light of the 



From the Sea of Galilee to Hermon. 479 

midday sun, burst upon our gaze; now resembling the deserts 
of Egypt as seen from the summit of the Great Pyramid, and 
then a prairie of greenest hue, and as the point of view was 
changed seeming like Lake Superior on a calm day. 

Our midday meal was partaken of under the shadow of a 
great rock. A portion of the way led along the course of a 
brook, a tributary of the ancient Pharpar. Our camp was 
pitched at Kefr-Hawar, and early the next morning we re- 
sumed the march. 

The journey across the plain was the most wearisome yet 
experienced in Asia, and the most exhausting since leaving 
home. Unwisely we resolved to reach Damascus before din- 
ner, and this involved seven hours in the saddle on a burning 
desert destitute of shade, with the temperature that of the 
hottest July or August day in this country. We came to the 
road built by the Romans from Damascus to Palestine and 
Egypt. Villages surrounded by orchards and vineyards break 
the monotony ; and we crossed a beautiful river, called the 
Nahr-Barbar, believed to be a corruption of the ancient 
Pharpar. 

The point of intersection of our path with the old Roman 
road is traditionally held, and with probable reason, to be the 
spot described in these words: "And as he journeyed, he 
came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about 
him a light from heaven : and he fell to the earth, and heard 
a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 
me? . . . And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the 
city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. . . . And 
Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he 
saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him 
into Damascus." Drawing near the city everything under- 
went a change: sparkling streams, the plain "with verdure 
clad," the white minarets and mosques made one feel as if 
he were approaching an enchanted city. But the heat was so 
terrible, that, fearing sunstroke, I dismounted to bathe my 
head in the cool and refreshing waters flowing down from 
Hermon. These dissipated the alarming symptoms, and at 
3 p. m. we reached the city gate. 
25 



480 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER LVIII. 
Damascus. 

Antiquity and Beauty of the City — History of the Great Mosque — Mas- 
sacre of the Christians — The Street that is Called Straight — Improb- 
able Legends — Protestant Mission — Grave of Henry Thomas Buckle — 
Salahiyeh. 

Damascus was an old city in the time of Abraham, whose 
prayer is recorded in Gen. xv: "Lord God, what wilt thou 
give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house 
is this Eliezer of Damascus? " Tradition makes it much older, 
locating the murder of Abel at this place, to which Shakespeare 
refers in " King Henry VI: " 

" Winchester : Nay, stand thou back ; 
I'll not budge a foot ; 
This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cain 
To slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilt." 

David conquered it in a bloody war, described in 2 Samuel. 
Elijah and Elisha frequently visited it, and the Books of 
Samuel and Kings abound with accounts of wars between the 
Israelites and the Damascenes. Ezekiel describes its great 
prosperity in the vision of Tyre: "Damascus was thy mer- 
chant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the 
multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white 
wool." It obtains its beauty and fertility from "the streams 
from Lebanon." 

Next to the relation of Paul to Damascus, the story of the 
interview between Elisha and Naaman invests it with interest 
to the Bible student. He had good reason to say, "Are not 
Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the 
waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? " 
No doubt since that time these rivers have changed their 
channels, like all streams in plains and deserts, but the con- 
figuration of the country and the sources of the streams, as in 



o 




Damascus. 483 

the Mississippi and the Nile, are such as to show that these 
rivers are essentially the same as those spoken of in the Bible 
as situated here. The Arabians have always considered Da- 
mascus as the best earthly type of Paradise. Its situation, 
streams, and fruits harmonize with the description in the 
Koran. The city is charming and imposing, lying on the 
edge of a desert nearly half a mile above the sea level, and 
bounded on the other sides by mountains. 

To the northward is the range of Anti-Libanus opposed on 
the west by Mount Hermon, dwarfing the volcanic mountains 
in the south. 

The lakes which are near and the streams running through 
the city are filled with water of unusual clearness. One of the 
rivers divides into seven branches, two filling the conduits 
that supply the city, and the others watering suburban 
orchards. 

Like most oriental cities Damascus is divided into quarters, 
Jews, Christians, and Moslems living separately. In general 
character Damascus is similar to Cairo; the bazaars are at- 
tractive features to strangers, for in them the products of the 
East are displayed, and mechanics may be seen at work. 

I went to the horse market, but could not find any of the 
magnificent animals such as in ancient times were common 
in Syria, and doubt whether the Arabians ever had finer 
horses than are raised in Kentucky. The saddle market is a 
gay display, as the Syrians always made much of decorations of 
that kind. We had been put on our guard against the dealers 
who begin by demanding extortionate prices, sometimes finally 
selling the goods for less than a quarter of what was at first 
charged. The glory of the Damascus blade has departed, 
and the daggers sold are said to be made of an inferior article 
of steel brought from Germany. The tobacco-using habits of 
the people cause a demand for all kinds of pipes, the stems of 
which are of cork. 

An extensive business is done in the sale of the fez. By a 
small investment we transformed ourselves into Turks, but 
found the caps too warm for use. One of the things which 
surprise strangers is that in that hot climate men will wear a 
form of head-covering giving no protection to the eyes and 



484 Travels in Three Continents. 

warm enough for the cold days of an American winter. None 
of the merchants are in haste; all who were not busy were 
smoking, praying, reading the Koran, or conversing. They 
appeared to be on good terms with each other, but are united 
in a desire to allure to the utmost possible extent unwary 
travelers. 

Mohammedan fatalism has some curious features, one of 
which is mentioned by Baedeker, who says there is no 
jealousy between rival venders of similar wares. If one who 
has nothing to do sees another driving a fine trade he simply 
says: "Allah has sent a good customer to my neighbor, and 
will in due time send me one also." An extensive business is 
done in clothing, as the people sleep in their clothes and soon 
wear them out. Barbers work in the open air, whether they 
are shaving or bleeding; for when a native feels ill he steps 
into a barber's shop and submits to phlebotomy to the extent 
of half a pint or more, after which he departs with the con- 
viction that he must be better. 

The tombs of three of Mohammed's wives are in the Da- 
mascus burying ground, and the view of the city from that 
cemetery is one of the best. Probably the largest plane tree in 
the world is on the river bank near the Saddlers' Bazaar. The 
trunk is more than four yards in diameter. 

Where the Great Mosque now stands there once was a 
heathen temple in which pagan rites were performed until the 
growth of Christianity caused it to fall into decay, but about 
the beginning of the fifth century it was restored and trans- 
formed into a church. Its managers said they had the head of 
John the Baptist — one of the many heads of John that are in 
different parts of the world. After Mohammedanism arose the 
eastern part of the church was taken possession of by them, 
and for years the western left to the Christians. Finally it was 
taken by the Mohammedans, and this mosque erected upon the 
foundations. Ferguson gives an account of the seizure. The 
Caliph entered the church with guards and ordered them to re- 
move or destroy every vestige of Christian worship, and standing 
upon the altar, he directed the work. There being an image of 
Christ near, one of his followers said: " Prince of the Faithful, 
I tremble for your safety; the power of that image against 



Damascus. 487 

which you lean may be exerted against you." " Fear not for 
me," replied the proud Moslem, "for the very first spot on 
which I shall lay my battle-ax will be that image's head." 
Thus saying he lifted his weapon and dashed the idol to pieces. 
The Christians raised a cry of horror, but their voices were 
drowned in the triumphant shout " Ullah-u-Akbar." The Ara- 
bians pretend that supernatural beings assisted in erecting the 
church, and (which has some foundation) that one thousand 
two hundred Greek artists were brought from Constantinople 
to decorate it. In its grandest days six hundred golden lamps 
hung from the ceiling. The mosque is four hundred and 
twenty-nine feet long and one hundred and twenty-four and a 
half feet wide. As the wall was not entirely destroyed, what 
was left is a part of the mosque, on which is written an ancient 
inscription in Greek: " Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlast- 
ing kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all gen- 
erations," a quotation from the 145th Psalm, with the words 
" O Christ " inserted. 

Saladin, whose virtues were recognized even by the Chris- 
tians while they were terrified by his power and overthrown 
by his victories, is counted among the Mohammedan saints. 
It was Saladin who took Damascus, Aleppo, Diarbekir, drove 
back Renaud de Chatillon, and defeated the Christian army at 
Tiberias, captured Guy de Lusignan, who called himself King 
of Jerusalem, finally besieged and took Jerusalem and drove all 
the Franks from the country. It was he who took the gold 
cross from the dome of the Mosque of Omar and purified the 
edifice with rose water, and reconverted it from a Christian 
church to a Mohammedan sanctuary. Not till Richard I dis- 
tinguished himself by the exploits which gave him the name of 
Cceur de Lion, did he meet a serious check. Saladin was un- 
doubtedly the greatest warrior that Mohammedanism has 
produced, and equally distinguished for "temperance and 
chastity, humanity and generosity, patience and affability;" 
wherever he went he built hospitals, colleges, and mosques. 
His tomb is in a perfect state of preservation. 

Of all wars since the classic times the Crusades are the 
most romantic and best adapted to stir enthusiasm in the 
young. 



488 Travels in Three Continents. 

On the ninth day of July, i860, the Christian quarter was set 
on fire; the whole Mohammedan population was in a state of 
wild excitement; hordes of fanatics, Kurds, Arabs, and Druses 
flocked to the city, and for twenty-four hours murder was 
systematically and furiously committed. Six thousand were 
killed, and the grossest outrages perpetrated upon their wives 
and daughters. The streets were blocked with the bodies of 
the slain, and had it not been for the courage of Abd-el-Kader 
they would have all been destroyed. I received accounts of 
the dreadful scenes from some who were in the city at the 
time. 

Beneath the affable aspect which the ordinary Mohammedan 
presents when he wishes to make a sale, or expects any advan- 
tage, lurks a fanaticism that would find vent in deeds of in- 
credible atrocity were it not for the military stationed there, 
and the fear the people feel of foreign powers. 

And the Lord said unto Ananias, "Arise, and go into the 
street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of 
Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus." Unquestionably we saw 
the same street, although it is not quite straight, and was form- 
erly wider than it now is. It is more than a mile in length, 
and ornamented with a colonnade of which traces remain. We 
visited the supposed house, which is converted into a church. 
The mythical house of Ananias is shown in another part of the 
city. The abode of Naaman is pointed out without a vestige 
of probability for the statement, but there is a propriety in 
its being a leper hospital. Several hospitals for these poor 
wretches exist in Damascus; there they sit, dying as they live, 
suffering the horrors of decomposition before the vital spark 
is extinct. Yet marvelous are the susceptibilities of human 
nature: they chat and laugh, and appear happy. 

Another adventure of St. Paul took place here, given in his 
own words: "In Damascus the governor under Aretas the 
king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous 
to apprehend me : and through a window in a basket was I let 
down by the wall, and escaped his hands." There is a gate in 
the wall of the city, Bab-kisan, which has been closed for seven 
hundred years, and tradition says that this was the place where 
St. Paul was thus let down. There are many houses along 



Damascus. 489 

the wall where such a thing could have been done. Not con- 
tent with this, they exhibit a tomb under drooping trees which 
they call the tomb of St. George. This St. George is the 
man who helped Paul to escape, and lost his life for his part 
in the matter! 

While in Damascus we had the pleasure of several inter- 
views with the head of the Protestant Mission, the Rev. John 
Crawford, whom we found to be highly respected and beloved. 
The mission is doing a good work, and the influence of 
Mr. Crawford and his family is excellent. 

Accompanied by him we visited the Protestant cemetery, 
a small inclosure kept under lock and key. After trying for 
years to secure the privilege of a piece of ground for this 
purpose, wearied with the delays of the Turkish government, 
the Christians took possession of it, and no objection has ever 
been urged. 

Henry Thomas Buckle, the historian and political writer, is 
buried in Damascus. He went to the East, in the autumn of 

1861, in the hope of improving his health, which had always 
been delicate. The epitaph is brief: "In memory of Henry 
Thomas Buckle (only son of the late Thomas Buckle, and 
Jane, his wife), who died of fever in Damascus on May 29, 

1862, aged 40 years. This stone is most affectionately dedi- 
cated by his loving and only surviving sister. ' I know that 
he shall rise again.' " 

Jobar is only about half an hour's walk from the city, and 
the scenery along the road is indescribably beautiful. The 
place is inhabited entirely by Mohammedans, and is of no in- 
terest except for its traditions. 

The oldest point of contact between this suburb and the 
Old Testament is in the declaration that when Abram rescued 
Lot from the kings he " smote them, and pursued them unto 
Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. " 

Mohammedan legends cluster about Salahiyeh. In the hills 
near it are buried thousands of Mohammedan saints. There 
Mohammed himself, while yet a camel driver from Mecca, 
gazed upon the entrancing scene, and turned away without 
entering the city, saying: "Man can have but one paradise, 
and my paradise is fixed above." They also hold that near 



49° Travels in Three Continents. 

this spot the unity of God was revealed to Abraham. The 
finest view we had of the suburbs was from a point halfway 
up an absolutely barren hill, three or four miles from the center 
of the city. Conybeare and Howson's Life and Epistles of St. 
Paul contains an admirable description of Damascus; and the 
authors are not extravagant in saying that " for miles round 
it is a wilderness of gardens — gardens with roses among the 
tangled shrubberies, and with fruit on the branches overhead. 
Everywhere among the trees is heard the murmur of unseen 
rivulets. Even in the city, which is in the midst of the 
gardens, the clear rushing of the currents is a perpetual re- 
freshment. Every dwelling has its fountain, and at night, 
when the sun has set behind Mount Lebanon, the lights of 
the city flash on the waters." 



Damascus to Beirut. 491 



CHAPTER LIX. 
Damascus to Beirut. 

Varieties of Weather and Scenery — Through the Lebanon Pass — Unique 
Lunatic Asylum— Origin and Situation of Beirut— Syrian Protestant College 
— Other Christian Missions — Grave of Bishop Kingsley. 

At Damascus we dismissed our caravan, separated from 
Selim, to whom we had become much attached, and took the 
diligence for Beirut (Beyroot). 

Wherever the French build roads, the traveler is happy 
whether he walks or rides, for they are the best road builders in 
the world. When, as the guardians of Roman Catholic inter- 
ests during the disturbances in i860, the French, to protect 
the Christians, sent forces there and occupied the country, 
they built a magnificent carriage road from Damascus to Bei- 
rut, and one may take the journey of seventy miles between 
5:20 a. m. and 5:30 p. m., or between half past seven at night 
and half past eight in the morning. Horses are frequently 
changed, which affords ample time to study the country. 

The day of our journey gave us every variety of climate: 
the heat of summer and the shivering cold of winter, with 
blinding snow. Like every other path leading out of Damas- 
cus, the way led through gardens and conduits, the landscape 
being adorned with trees of rare beauty. The villas were 
handsome; a small one is known as that of Abd-el-Kader, who, 
after he was defeated by the French, received a pension and 
was allowed to live there on condition of not leaving the dis- 
trict of Damascus. 

After three or four miles we reached the desert. At six 
miles we changed horses, and entered upon a fine tract watered 
by the Barada; but when we had ridden six or eight miles more 
we came to a desolate wilderness, a portion of which is elevated 
and used for encampments and reviews of the Damascus troops. 
Hermon, Lebanon, and other magnificent mountains appeared 
on either side ; broad table-lands ; wild glens several miles long, 



49 2 Travels in Three Continents. 

with legends of banditti; dull valleys and steep ascents were 
traversed. On leaving the village of Shtora, whence the 
road diverges to Baalbec, we ascended to the Lebanon pass, 
five thousand six hundred feet above the sea. Behind were 
wild and barren mountains, and before us the path by which 
we were to descend to Beirut. The houses of that city showed 
far away as white specks upon a blue ground: that blue was 
the Mediterranean, which we had last looked upon from the 
mountains of Palestine. 

Half a day's ride from this point is a lunatic asylum that has 
no parallel. It is in the -village of Karyaten, and only the Bed- 
ouins patronize it. The process of cure is peculiar; a mixture 
of faith and works, and it is managed with as much shrewdness 
as the Christian science and faith healing operations of this 
country. The patient is bound and confined in a room by 
himself for a single night; the next morning he is found cured 
and without his fetters. The marvelous superiority of this 
method over all others is seen in this; that if he omits to pay 
for his miraculous recovery he at once relapses into insanity. 

On arriving in Beirut we were met by Mr. McFadden, who 
had been left in the hospital at Cairo. After several weeks of 
sickness and debility, he had recovered sufficiently to make 
the journey by sea. Disease had changed him, but the hope 
and the pleasure of meeting friends put fresh color into his 
cheeks, and in three weeks from that day he seemed in better 
health than before the attack. 

Beirut was founded by the Phoenicians, and was important 
in the time of Alexander the Creat. To-day it is the most 
important seaport and commercial town in all Syria, beauti- 
ful in situation, surrounded by mountains, some snow-clad, 
and forming a striking contrast with the sea. In the last thirty 
years the population has quadrupled, and now amounts to 
more than eighty thousand. 

The Syrian Protestant College presents missions at their 
best, and we were afforded every facility to examine them. 
Each of us being acquainted with President Bliss, or one or 
more of the faculty, we enjoyed a rest and refreshment of sev- 
eral days in Beirut, which affected us as favorably as did the 
encampment at Elim the Israelites. 



',■?*. 



Damascus to Beirut. 495 

The American Mission has been established in Syria for 
more than fifty years, and the names of Dr. Thomson, author 
of The Land and the Booh, Dr. Eli Smith, and Dr. Van Dyke 
are known throughout the Christian world. The college was 
opened in 1866, though a preparatory class had been formed 
the year before. It has a complete system of buildings, among 
which is the Ada Dodge Memorial Hall, erected for the use of 
the preparatory department by the Rev. D. Stuart Dodge, son 
of William E. Dodge of New York. The president lives in a 
fine structure known, from its donor, as the Marquand House. 

When we were there, there were about one hundred stu- 
dents in the preparatory department, and sixty-five in the col- 
legiate. Few American colleges have so fine a system of 
buildings, and none a more magnificent site. One was de- 
lightfully reminded of home by the Alcott collection of two 
thousand species of the plants of the Eastern and Northern 
States of America. We heard Dr. George F. Post, who has 
the reputation of being the best physician in Syria, lecture to 
the medical students on botany. 

I had the pleasure of calling upon Dr. Van Dyke on the 
fiftieth anniversary of his arrival in Syria. This distinguished 
man went there originally as a medical missionary, but has be- 
come famous in the world of scholars and linguists because of 
his translation of the Bible into Arabic. 

Beirut is the center of mission work which extends into the 
regions round about, and is superintended efficiently. 

The cemetery near the church contains the tombs of some 
of the godly men who laid the foundations of this mission. 
The church, an imposing building, is well attended. 

At the college we met the Hon. Edward L. Pierce, of Bos- 
ton, the biographer of Charles Sumner, and formerly one of the 
professors of the Boston University Law School, and an hour 
was well spent at the hospital witnessing surgical operations 
performed by Professor Post, who, surrounded by students, 
relieved the sufferings of the sick and maimed. 

There are other Christian missions in Beirut. The British 
Syrian institutions have their headquarters there, and in the dis- 
trict which they cultivate are schools containing nearly one thou- 
sand pupils. The Roman Catholics have an orphanage which 



496 Travels in Three Continents. 

will accommodate six hundred, and sustain day and boarding 
schools. Another is known as the Dames de Nazareth. The 
German Jesuits sustain places of instruction; and a fine orphan- 
age and school with a chapel, in which French and German 
services are alternately conducted, exists. A very interesting 
school is conducted by a learned Arab. 

Compared with the present prosperity of the Syrian Protes- 
tant Mission, the early struggles of the missionaries to Syria 
form a contrast as great as that between the sufferings of the 
Pilgrim Fathers and the present condition of New England. 
A magnificent presentation of Western civilization is made to- 
day in the presence of the Mohammedan world. 

At a little distance the heroic aspect of missionary work 
still appears, and the results of preaching the Gospel in the 
mountains of Lebanon and in the villages of the plains, as well 
as the self-denial and isolation necessary to accomplish it, can 
be seen in less than two days' journey. 

Before leaving Beirut I visited the grave of Bishop Kingsley 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who died there, April 6, 
1870, when returning from an episcopal tour through the 
missions of his Church in China and India. 



Cyprus and Noted Islands of the tEgean Sea. 497 



CHAPTER LX. 
Cyprus and Noted Islands of the JEgean Sea. 

Cyprus — Lanarca — Greek Church of St. Lazarus — Rhodes — The Colossus — 
Symi — Kos, Birthplace of Apelles, Hippocrates, and Simonides — The Rock 
Island, Patmos — Classic Interest of Samos — Scio. 

Again the time had come to trust ourselves to the capricious 
mercies and severities of the Mediterranean, and bidding the 
mainland of Asia a temporary farewell we took the steamship 
for the island of Cyprus. The voyage consumed twelve hours. 
Father Stephanos, whom we had met in Jerusalem, and who 
had acted as interpreter in our conversation with the Greek 
patriarch, was on board with some co-ecclesiastics, and we found 
in him a frankness in criticising his Church, and especially its 
politico-ecclesiastical manipulation, which demonstrated that 
it does not control the tongues of its ministers. No doubt, 
however, with Greek facility he could explain to the satisfac- 
tion of the authorities everything he said. I shall not make 
him responsible for any particular statements, not having 
warned him that he was being interviewed for publication, and 
being well aware that in all sects many feel free to criticise, in 
conversation with strangers, points which they would defend if 
attacked from without. 

We went on shore at Lanarca, the capital, and saw so much 
of it as was possible during the time allowed before sailing. 
The island of Cyprus contains 3,723 square miles, and a pop- 
ulation of 186,000; 125,000 of these are professedly Christians, 
and speak the Greek language. Glimpses of the mountain 
ranges which traverse the island, one parallel with the north 
and the other with the south coast, could be seen, and a few 
of the fever-breeding marshes that have brought the climate 
into disrepute. Bad harbors, frequent droughts, and inef- 
ficient government, together with neglect and want of drain- 
age and cultivation, have kept poor one of the most fertile 
islands in the Mediterranean. There is a marked contrast 



498 Travels in Three Continents. 

between its population to-day and that of ancient times. 
Then two million people lived and prospered upon it. Two 
sorts of fevers — ague and remittent — keep many of the inhab- 
itants sick, unless they have the ability and the means to move 
from point to point according to the climate. Little remains 
of the old forests, or of the cedars, which are said to have sur- 
passed even those of Lebanon. 

Colonized by the Phoenicians, the Syrians, Greeks, Egyp- 
tians, Persians, and Romans successively held it. 

Cyprus swords were so valued that Alexander the Great 
wore one presented to him by a king. On this island Solon 
spent the closing years of his life. In comparatively modern 
times it was a place of importance, and at the close of the 
twelfth century was conquered by Richard Coeur de Lion, who 
called himself King of Cyprus. In 1878 it came under the 
control of Great Britain. 

Barnabas, "the son of consolation," was a native of Cyprus. 
Some of those that were scattered abroad after the persecution 
of Stephen went as far as Cyprus. When Barnabas and Paul 
were sent forth by the disciples they went there. After 
they separated because of contention about Mark, Barnabas 
took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; and when Paul sailed from 
Patara he left this island on the left hand, on his way to Syria. 
On Paul's journey from Csesarea to Jerusalem, " one Mnason of 
Cyprus, an old disciple," with whom they were to lodge, went 
with them. In the terrible voyage described by the apostle 
in Acts xxvii, they "sailed under Cyprus, because the winds 
were contrary." 

In the bazaar was an abundant supply of all kinds of oriental 
fruits of the season, handiwork of the people, and of every- 
thing which such places usually contain. A guide, employed 
to conduct us through the Greek Church of St. Lazarus, pre- 
tended that the body of Lazarus was beneath the building, 
but he romanced superfluously, as the authorities do not claim 
that. He solemnly assured us that the Bible states that, after 
the resurrection of Lazarus, the Jews drove him away from 
Joppa, but his boat miraculously drifting to Cyprus, he landed 
at Lanarca, and the Christians made him bishop, the functions 
of which office he exercised until his death. 



Cyprus and Noted Islands of the JEgean Sea. 499 

We saw a few of the relics which make Cyprus interesting 
to antiquarians, but many of the best are in New York. 
General Di Cesnola, a native of Italy, after a military edu- 
cation and service in the Sardinian army and the Crimean 
War, came to the United States, volunteered and became 
Colonel of the Fourth New York Cavalry and a naturalized 
citizen. Afterward, when consul at Cyprus, he made the 
collection of antiquities which he sold to the Metropolitan 
Museum of Art, of which he is now director. An attack 
upon him, in art journals and in the daily press, which began 
in 1879, was referred to a committee of five distinguished 
citizens, who declared the charges groundless; it was afterward 
fought through the courts, resulting in a disagreement of the 
jury. The year after the attack Columbia College conferred 
upon the General the degree of LL. D. 

The controversy was so partisan that no one could make 
anything of it. General Di Cesnola's Researches and Dis- 
coveries in Cyprus contains more information than any other 
accessible work on. the subject. "The beautiful women of 
Cyprus " must have been indoors on the occasion of our visit, 
and the female inhabitants whom we saw on the streets, in the 
stores, and in the markets, foreigners. 

From Cyprus we sailed to Rhodes, the usual time of the 
voyage being thirty hours. We were a little longer on the 
way. This is the most eastern island of the ^gean Sea, a 
center of primitive traditions; it emerged into history in the 
possession of all the elements of prosperity, and soon became 
a great commercial and colonizing power. Rhodes is men- 
tioned in the history of every important war of ancient times 
in this part of the world. Its coasts present a noble appear- 
ance: the island culminates in a mountain summit four thou- 
sand feet above the water, and the gradual ascent of the 
hills produces, from some points of view, the effect of ter- 
races. As a quaint authority says: "All that remains of the 
Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the world, 
is the place where it stood at the entrance of the harbor." It 
was a bronze statue one hundred and five feet high, was twelve 
years in being erected, stood for only fifty-six years, being 
overthrown by an earthquake B. C. 222. The pieces re- 



500 Travels in Three Continents. 

mained there eight hundred and ninety-four years. In 672 
the general of the Caliph Othman IV sold them to a Jew, 
who carried them away on nine hundred camels. Happening 
to remember this passage from a translation of Pindar: 

" Wisdom true glory can impart 
Without the aid of magic art ; 
As ancient fame reports when Jove 
And all the immortal powers above 
Held upon earth divided sway ; 
Nor yet had Rhodes in glittering pride 
On ocean's breast appeared to ride, 
But hid beneath his briny caverns lay," 

I looked with curiosity upon the natural features of the island, 
which suggested the idea of its originating by the special 
power of Apollo, and elaborated the myth of its being raised 
from beneath the waves. 

Later history connects it with the Knights of St. John, 
who dwelt upon it for above two hundred years after their 
expulsion from Jerusalem, finally surrendering to Suliman the 
Magnificent after a siege of four months. 

From Rhodes we sailed past the island of Symi, often men- 
tioned in history. The people earn their living by fishing for 
sponge, and both men and women have an extraordinary 
reputation as divers for sponge and coral. A Greek on the 
ship told amazing stories of the length of time the women 
could remain under water, and said it was a custom, when a 
disturbance took place among the women, to break it up by 
offering a reward to the one who would dive the deepest and 
stay under the longest; at which tale some of the Greek by- 
standers laughed incredulously. 

Kos was the next island of importance which came into 
view, and what I had read and heard of it made me regret the 
possibility of landing. I can imagine no more stimulating 
way of disposing of three or four days than pedestrianizing on 
this classic island, the birthplace of Apelles, the painter, 
Hippocrates, "the father of all such as practice physic," and 
Simonides, the Greek poet, who had claims to distinction as 
a philosopher, as the first poet who wrote for money, and on 
account of adding four letters to the Greek alphabet. 



Cyprus and Noted Islands of the vEgean Sea. 501 

It is still more famous as being the only city in Asia Minor 
which refused to obey the edict of Mithridates ordering the 
massacre of all Roman citizens. Paul also mentioned his 
coming to Coos. We were sailing over the route which Paul 
took, but in an opposite direction, he voyaging to Syria. 




Isle of Patmos. 

Patmos to me had more of mystery and fascination than 
all the small islands in all the seas. Nor is there anything 
uttered by man, within or without the Bible, more sublime 
than : 

"I, John, who also am your brother, and companion in 
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, 
was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and 
for the testimony of Jesus Christ." 

For six hours we were within full sight of it on a day of unsur- 
passed brightness, and seldom do travelers in this region have 
so grand a view. Many pass in the night, and others at such 
a distance as to be unable to discern the outlines of this irreg- 
ular mass of rock. The island is but ten miles long and five 
20 



502 Travels in Three Continents. 

wide, and may be correctly described as a mountain of rock, 
two thirds of which is under water. The sea withdrawn, it 
would be one of the most striking rock mountains in the 
world. According to classic historians, the most precipitous 
and desolate islands were selected for the imprisonment of 
exiles, and no sooner did we discern Patmos than its appropri- 
ateness for such a purpose was apparent. A flat island is never 
impressive. Seeming to exist by the mercy of the sea which 
ever dashes against its shores, should it be entirely submerged 
it would not surprise the observer. But Patmos is the embodi- 
ment of sternness and force; its attitude that of a giant who 
had thrust himself up out of the sea, and stood through the 
ages defying its power. 

The aspect of the mountain is similar to that of Gibraltar, 
as it is divided into two parts. On the east side is the harbor. 
Tradition says St. John received the revelation in a grotto 
halfway up the steep ascent, and with a glass we could easily 
distinguish the spot. Near the summit is the celebrated 
Monastery of St. John the Divine. At first we studied it 
through a glass, but the ship drew so near that it could be 
identified with the naked eye. 

The Greek fathers who were on board looked upon this 
island with an interest not less than our own, and one, who 
had made seven voyages through these waters, said it was the 
first opportunity he had had of seeing it. The monks claim 
to point out the very spot where the revelation was delivered, 
even to identifying the fissures in the roof of the grotto 
through which the apostle heard the voice from heaven like 
the sound of a trumpet. That is bringing the matter to a fine 
point, especially as there is not the slightest reason to suppose 
from the book itself that any sounds were heard by his 
material ear. Whoever will carefully read the first chapter 
will not be left in doubt upon this point. All these wonders 
were seen by John in vision, and are types of spiritual truths. 
The island has a population of four thousand, a starving, 
poverty-stricken class, who live by working on other islands 
as farmers and by boating. 

Samos is larger than Patmos, being thirty miles long and 
eight wide. A splendid picture was presented of the range of 



Cyprus and Noted Islands of the .-Egean Sea. 503 

mountains, extending from east to west, whence it derives its 
name. Patmos has no classic value. Samos was once the 
center of Ionian manners and learning, and has no Christian 
interest. All that we had known, read, or heard of ancient 
Greece came trooping up, and as we read an epitome of the 
statements of Thucydides recalling the fact that the Samians 
were the first of the Greeks, after the Corinthians, who paid at- 
tention to naval affairs, and remembered that they founded 
colonies in Thrace, Cicilia, Crete, Italy, and Sicily, and as we 
contemplated the island, now in possession of Athens, then of 
Sparta, then of Rome, tracing it down from the time that An- 
tony and Cleopatra made it a place of residence, until it sank 
into its modern insignificance, we felt, as often before, that not 
the size of the territory, but the character of the people, makes 
its history important. 

At Scio, or Chios, we made a landing. Its modern is al- 
most as interesting as its ancient history. It claims to be the 
birthplace of Homer, "the blind old man of Scio's rocky isle," 
and that Ion, the tragic poet, and Theopompus, the historian, 
were born there is not disputed. In the time of Herodotus it 
was a member of the Ionian Confederation. Important as its 
history has been, the island is only thirty-two miles long and 
eighteen wide. As we sailed along the mainland and among 
the islands, our minds were filled with Bible names, such as 
Caria, Miletus, Trogyllium, Samos, Patmos, Coos, Chios, 
Mitylene, Ephesus, Cnidus, with classical Halicarnassus and 
the Meander. The tints of sea, sky, and landscape, the con- 
stantly changing outline of the mountains, caused the scenic 
interest to leave in the mind a suffused haze of delight. The 
historic, the literary, and the artistic formed a shifting pan- 
orama of things new and old. We were among places and 
scenes of which we had heard and read all our lives, and mem- 
ory fulfilled the tribute paid her by Samuel Rogers : 

" And hence the charm historic scenes impart ; 
Hence Tiber awes, and Avon melts the heart ; 
Aerial forms in Tempe's classic vale 
Glance through the gloom and whisper in the gale," etc. 

As we recalled Paul's missionary tours and John's sufferings 
and revelations, religion threw its charm over every object. 



504 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER LXI. 
Smyrna and Ephesus. 

Beauty of Smyrna — Figs, Drugs, and Rugs — Cosmopolitan Population — Lan- 
guages — Wandering Tribes — Religions — Tomb of Polycarp — Importance of 
Ephesus — Ruins of the Stadium, Odeon, and Great Theater — Temple of 
Diana — Incidents in Paul's Life Connected with Ephesus — Legend of the 
Seven Sleepers. 

It was with satisfaction that we disembarked at Smyrna^ 
An old acquaintance and fellow-traveler, the late A. A. Van- 
tine, founder of the famous carpet, rug, and oriental merchan- 
dise establishment on Broadway, New York, had said to me: 
"Visit Smyrna, and keep your eyes and ears open, for you 
will see strange peoples, and the sounds of more than fifty 
languages and dialects will bombard your ears." After list- 
ening by the hour on shipboard to his interesting reminis- 
cences of twenty-six visits to Smyrna, Constantinople, Japan, 
and other countries of the East, I told him that when in 
Smyrna I should remember him, and on returning would report 
whether I found the city as he had portrayed it. 

The conversation occurred but six years ago, yet, before the 
opportunity of making the report came, the hero of so many 
journeys had been summoned to that bourn whence no trav- 
eler returns, although his name upon the house still attracts 
attention. 

He who goes to Smyrna for good hotels will be disappointed; 
but they are endurable. The hours of meals are primitive, 
dinner being served in the middle of the day. 

I had not been in my room ten minutes before being forcibly 
reminded of my native land by the cheerful song of the mos- 
quito. Smyrna is as famous for mosquitoes as New Jersey, 
and the winter is not cold enough to kill them. 

We were filled with admiration of the beauty of the city as 
we entered a gulf which extends far inland, and the city lies 



Smyrna and Ephesus. 505 

partly on the slopes of Mount Pagus, near the southeast of the 
gulf, and partly between that hill and the sea. Opposite to 
Pagus is a steep peak nearly one thousand three hundred 
feet high; and in the most ancient period of the city's his- 
tory the Acropolis was upon this point. On the west side is 
another hill surmounted with the ruins of temples. 

The sea in front and mountains as a background will give 
any city an imposing appearance, and its beauty is increased 
when arms of the sea reach inland. In ancient times, " when 
magnificent buildings and imposing Acropolis and the wide 
circle of massive walls combined with the natural scenery in 
one splendid picture," the effect must have been even more 
striking. I enjoyed several walks along the sea, constantly 
rejoicing in glimpses of Mount Pagus, and made a short trip 
up the mountain's side. Frank Street, containing the English 
consulate and chapel, the European casino, English book- 
sellers, and the English pharmacy, is interesting to Europeans. 
Donkeys are as frequently used for riding in Smyrna as in 
Cairo. 

Smyrna has a wide reputation for its traffic in drugs ; in 
fact, it has monopolized this business in the East, and while 
prescriptions were being put up for me by one clerk I chatted 
with another, who seemed to be a polyglot, as he could 
turn like a courier from one language to another, but, unlike 
the courier, could converse intelligently and correctly upon 
any subject. Olive oil and attar of roses, scammony, galls, 
licorice paste, opium, madder, all sorts of drugs, dyes, and 
perfumes are wholesaled and retailed. The large tanks em- 
ployed in the leech business are very curious. Before bleed- 
ing became unfashionable in medical practice an immense 
business was done in leeches. 

Everyone has heard of Smyrna figs. Had it been in the 
season I should have gone to see them cured, though some 
say that the women who prepare them are among the dirtiest 
creatures to be found in the Levant. It is claimed there is a 
mystery in the method used which gives the figs their reputa- 
tion. 

Of the rugs and carpets I need say nothing, for the finest can 
be seen in New York. They are manufactured in towns in the 



506 Travels in Three Continents. 

interior and brought to Smyrna. In the windows of the stores 
were curious handkerchiefs, and while passing through the 
Persian khan we saw rarely beautiful designs in carpets. Later 
in the season small dealers come in and peddle rugs and car- 
pets about the city; sponges from the islands which we had 
passed are sold here. 

In looking for Mr. Vantine's cosmopolitan population, I 
was not disappointed; for all kinds of dialects saluted my ears, 
and every variety of costume greeted my eyes. On the out- 
skirts of the city there is a huge encampment of gypsies speak- 
ing their own language, and we observed some of them stand- 
ing about the station. 

The authorities divide the nations and languages into many 
groups: English and American; High Dutch, an old colony 
of Hollanders; French; Italians; Albanians; Slavonians, speak- 
ing Servian; Hellenic Greeks, speaking Romaic; Armenians, 
Persians, and Gypsies ; Jews, whose language is mongrel 
Spanish and Italian; and varieties of Turanians, including 
Turks, Kizzilbashes, and Rayah Greeks speaking Turkish 
and Greek, descendants of the ancient inhabitants of Asia 
Minor. 

It was represented to us that not one language is spoken 
in purity; that most of the Mussulmans and Christians speak 
several languages, and that, under the influence of the modern 
Greek or Romaic pronunciation, and from their being a non- 
reading people, the Christians create dialects. Our old guide, 
Moses, in Palestine, illustrated this tendency by his fluency in 
languages and dialects. He could speak many languages, but 
none correctly. 

In Smyrna there are many Negroes from Eastern and Cen- 
tral Africa. Among the most peculiar of mankind are the 
nomads, encamped within a few miles of the city; for this is 
the frontier of the wandering tribes who are scattered over 
the vast territory between Smyrna and China. At the pres- 
ent time there are twice as many Greeks in Smyrna as in 
Athens. 

I dare not enter into the history of the city, as even an in- 
telligent condensation would demand several chapters. Its 
myths begin to dissipate about seven hundred years before 



Smyrna and Ephesus. 507 

Christ. It lay desolate four hundred years, but Alexander the 
Great is said to have had a warning in a vision from Diana to 
restore it. It became famous for philosophy and rhetoric, 
being named the ''Forest of Philosophers," the "Museum of 
Ionia," "the Asylum of the Muses and Graces." Formerly 
insalubrious, the nucleus and generating center of plagues 
through all the centuries, for about sixty years it has been 
comparatively healthful. Miasmatic valleys surround it, and 
would render it uninhabitable were it not for a certain wind 
which they designate the Imbat. 

The Turks allow religious freedom, and Greeks, Armenians, 
and Roman Catholics are undisturbed in their worship. A 
singular concession to Greek and Armenian prejudice appears 
in the fact that the Roman Catholic cathedral contains hardly 
an image. Many schools and missions exist, and the different 
religious creeds are divided into antagonistic sects. Among 
the Mohammedans there are several that are not allowed to 
practice their peculiar rites in this orthodox Mohammedan 
city. 

Protestant missions have existed in Smyrna for years, and 
diverse statements are made concerning their success. 

To Christians the preeminent interest of Smyrna lies in 
these words: 

"And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These 
things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is 
alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but 
thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say 
they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the 
devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; 
and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto 
death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an 
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He 
that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." 

"This once only her record flashes into unique and sudden 
brightness illumined by the praise of Christ himself, praise un- 
alloyed by a single word of censure." 

From the beginning Smyrna suffered tribulation for Christ 
from heathen and Jews; though Smyrna was rich, the Christians 



508 Travels in Three Continents. 

were poor, but they were rich in faith. It was here that Poly- 
carp was martyred, and he was bishop at the time that Igna- 
tius passed through on his way to die for Christ in the 
amphitheater of Rome. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John, 
and from these circumstances it is the opinion of many, and 
is set forth in a work on the Seven Churches of Asia, edited by 
Professor Salmond, of the University of Aberdeen, that he was 
the "angel of the church in Smyrna" to whom the above 
words were written. Of him Irenaeus writes his reminiscences 
in the latter part of the second century, saying: "I can tell 
the very place where the blessed Polycarp used to sit and dis- 
course; his entrances, his walks, the complexion of his life, the 
form of his body, his conversations with the people, and his 
familiar intercourse with St. John, as also his familiarity with 
those who had seen the Lord." 

The ruins of the amphitheater in which Polycarp was sacri- 
ficed for Christ are still there; his words just before he was 
burnt will never die. The proconsul who wished to set him 
free, as Pilate wished to deliver Christ, said: "Blaspheme 
Christ, and I will release thee; " Polycarp answered: " Eighty 
and six years I have served him, and he hath never wronged 
me; how then can I blaspheme my King, who hath saved 
me? " This sealed his doom. 

The "candlestick" of Smyrna has never been removed. 
From that time to this it has been a Christian city, presenting 
the Gospel in a poor, mutilated form, but no doubt containing 
at all times a number of such as should be saved, and who 
through all the superstitions and ceremonies of paganized 
Christianity have adhered to the Head. It has always been 
spoken of as Christian, "the Moslems in scorn terming it the 
infidel Smyrna." 

Some of our party went to see the tomb of Polycarp, the 
identity of which has been maintained. It stands on the side 
of Mount Pagus, below the Acropolis, near the ruins of an im- 
mense theater which was destroyed by an earthquake, and 
over it grows an ancient cypress tree. Above, within the 
Acropolis, is a mosque which is known to have been the church 
in which he preached. 

Smyrna is worthy a visit from every traveler, whatever his 



Smyrna and Ephesus. 509 

favorite line of study and observation. Yet many, generally 
well informed, are so ignorant of it that the remark is not in- 
frequent: " What is the use of going to Smyrna? " They do 
not appear to know that it is to-day, and for ages has been, 
the most important city in Asia Minor, having its hand on 
Europe, Asia, and Africa, and abounding in antiquities, pre- 
Christian and Christian, and containing a unique conglomera- 
tion of more than two hundred thousand living human beings. 

Ephesus is a cradle of mythology, the metropolis of the Ionian 
Confederacy, " next to Athens remarkable for being the scene 
of memorable events, for having the great School of Art, and 
as being, next to Jerusalem, the holiest of Christian cities, 
and the most noted in apostolic labors." Ephesus is the 
legendary native place of Apollo and Diana; one of the chief 
claimants for the birthplace of Homer; the undisputed birth- 
place of Apelles ; — Ephesus is necessary to the history of 
Croesus, Artemisia, Xerxes, Cimon the Athenian, Alcibiades, Ly- 
sander the Spartan, Agesilaus, King of Sparta, and Xenophon; 
of Alexander the Great; of Ptolemy Philadelphus; of Hannibal; 
of Mithridates, Manlius, Scipio, Sylla; of Cicero, Pompey, and 
Augustus. Ephesus, renowned for architecture, sculpture, 
painting, philosophy; equally important in the Asiatic, Grecian, 
Roman, Byzantine, and Mohammedan periods, under pagan- 
ism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism, can be visited in one 
day's excursion from Smyrna, the distance being forty-eight 
miles. 

The morning appointed for the journey found me ill, but 
the thought of missing Ephesus was not to be endured, and 
a counter irritant might ward off a worse thing; so, whip- 
ping up the latent powers, I rose, and once in the train had 
nothing to do but exist and enjoy the attractive scenery, 
until the village of Ayasoolook was reached. It is at the en- 
trance to a large fig district, the vineyards being on the 
adjacent mountains. Murray says that this "is a feverish 
place, with few permanent inhabitants," and that "visitors 
who stay over night should sleep in an upper story." For that 
reason only explorers remain long, and even they are recom- 
mended to stay at another village an hour's ride away, seven 
hundred feet above the level of the plain, and healthful. 



ij io Travels in Three Continents. 

Horses were obtained, but were so poor that though each man 
tried to get the best he subsequently maintained that he had 
the worst. 

My beast had the most expressive countenance I have ever 
seen upon horse or ass, and a way of looking at other horses 
and their riders which resembled a satirical leer. I concluded 
that he would try to throw me; but physiognomy is as uncer- 
tain an index of character in horses as in men. He was peace- 
ful, gentle, and had but one trick, that of occasionally pausing, 
generally in front of a ruin, and looking around as if to say, 
" Why do you bring me here ? " 

Nests of storks attracted our attention as we rode. These 
birds are revered by the inhabitants, and sail through the air 
or stand with equal majesty upon their high nests. 

The finest account of Ephesus as it was may be found in the 
Book of Acts. In exploring the ruins we rode several miles 
on the sides of mountains and hills, and rambled over adjacent 
valleys. But fragments of monuments remain, from the Cyclo- 
pean walls down to the time of the Mussulman. The theory 
is that the country was originally settled, and that two or three 
smaller cities were built on Mount Prion, Mount Coressus, and 
on the hill near the present railway station; that these flour- 
ished, gradually approached each other, and finally united and 
formed Ephesus. 

Only fragments remain of the magnificence of Ephesus, but 
much more than I expected, both of substructures and super- 
structures. The subterranean vaults are vast, the foundations 
easily traced, and there is no reason to doubt that the sites of 
almost all the famous buildings are identified. The Gymna- 
sium, the Great Agora, and the two smaller markets, close to 
the base of Mount Coressus, are plainly marked. Ephesus 
was famous for its gymnasiums; one was nine hundred and 
twenty-five feet by six hundred and eighty feet; but another, 
where Agesilaus exercised the Spartans, was more celebrated. 
We stood in the theater, which would seat sixty thousand. It 
is a pile of ruins, but its walls in part still stand. The climate 
admitted of perfect ventilation, little use was made of windows, 
and immensity and simplicity were the elements of its grandeur. 
The Stadium and the Odeon and fragments of temples still 



Smyrna and Ephesus. 



5ii 



remain; the two former are positively identified, several of 
the temples hypothetically. Coins are extant upon which are 
inscribed the names of the temples of Ephesus. For centuries 
the Temple of Diana was buried beneath the accumulating 
debris and the soil of the plain, and the knowledge of its site 
was lost; but about thirty-five years ago Mr. Wood found in- 
scriptions in the great theater, one of which gave the clew to 
the location of the temple. 

Though a wanderer in many countries, and in the habit of 
reading accounts of ruined cities, not till I reached Ephesus 
did the full glory and value of the services of archaeologists 
and antiquarians burst upon my mind. With the scene in full 
view, I read of the discovery of the Magnesian Gate; from 
which, according to Philostratus, a covered way led to the 
Temple of Diana. Mr. Wood dug for it, and eleven feet 
underground found the road with tombs on each side. For 
three years he explored this road. Finding an inscription 
elsewhere stating that the procession from the Temple of 
Diana entered the city by the Magnesian Gate and returned 
through the Coressian Gate, he drew the conclusion that the 
temple stood at the junction. After finding the Magnesian, 
he discovered the Coressian Gate, and in April, 1869, "he 
struck upon the angle of the peribolos just where it might 
have been expected to be." Then he discovered in that wall 
an inscription stating that the Emperor Augustus had rebuilt 
the peribolos wall around the Temple of the Goddess Diana, 
B. C. 6. His later discoveries were remarkable, including a 
pavement of square blocks of fine white marble, nine inches 
thick, on a level bed of black marble. These were eighteen feet 
below the soil, and on further examination he discovered that 
the lowest stratum of soil was composed of splinters of fine 
white marble calcined by fire. He came upon drums of marble 
columns six feet in diameter; then the south walls, and frag- 
ments of one hundred columns sixty feet high. By compari- 
son he ascertained the dimensions of the temple to have been 
one hundred and sixty-four feet by three hundred and forty- 
three. One of my authorities compares this temple with the 
Parthenon, which is only two hundred and twenty-eight feet 
long by one hundred and one broad. The ruins found are 



512 Travels in Three Continents. 

of the eighth successive temple, the preceding seven having 
been burnt. The sixth is supposed to have been begun six 
hundred years before Christ, and was built in a marsh to 
guard against earthquake. It is claimed that this temple was 
destroyed the same day Socrates drank poison, B. C. 400. 
The seventh was the one that Herostratus burned in order to 
perpetuate his name, giving rise to the lines which John 
Wilkes Booth used to repeat to his friends when he was con- 
templating the plan that ended in the assassination of Presi- 
dent Lincoln: 

" The aspiring youth that fired the Ephesian dome 
Outlives in fame the pious fool that raised it." 

Amid these ruins I lifted up my voice and shouted, "Great is 
Diana of the Ephesians!" but none are left upon the earth 
to do her reverence. The temple is supposed to have been 
burned the year A. D. 260, but its final destruction is believed 
to have occurred under the decree of Constantine, A. D. 342. 
The demonstration of these facts on broad, general lines is 
absolute. 

Guided by the Book of Acts we could easily follow St. Paul. 
He comes to Ephesus, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, 
and, after reasoning awhile with the Jews in the synagogue, 
departs for Jerusalem, leaving Apollos of Alexandria to 
preach. Aquila and Priscilla meet him, and from them he 
learns more of Christianity. Again Paul comes to Ephesus, 
and finds the disciples who had received only John's baptism. 
From the reference to this fact arose the notion that John the 
Baptist had been there, and they pretend to show the font in 
which he baptized. Paul now remained two years "disputing 
daily in the school of one Tyrannus. " As Ephesus was at that 
time given up to magic, Paul here wrought special miracles, 
and here the sons of Sceva tried to cast out the evil spirit and 
were confounded, so that "those who used curious arts . . . 
and books . . . burned them, and mightily grew the word of 
God and prevailed. " 

Then arose the excitement. Demetrius and his fellow-crafts- 
men impeached Paul, and said that the Temple of the God- 
dess Diana would be thrown down. The people rushed with 
one accord into the theater and cried for the space of about 



Smyrna and Ephesus. 513 

two hours: "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." We stood 
that day before the walls which had resounded to the uproar. 

The words of the town clerk show that there must have 
been an image supposed to have fallen from Jupiter: "Ye 
men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how 
that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great god- 
dess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?" 
Timothy was at Ephesus with St. Paul, who sent him, to- 
gether with Erastus, into Macedonia. The twentieth chapter 
of Acts states that while there St. Paul supported himself by 
tentmaking, a handicraft for which Ephesus was famous. 
A belief existed anciently that Paul was part of the time in 
prison here, which is quite probable, though the supposed St. 
Paul's prison is mythical. The Epistles to Timothy inform us 
that he was the first Bishop of Ephesus. It is also generally 
believed that after St. John was released from banishment 
on Patmos, he resided in Ephesus and the Virgin Mary dwelt 
with him there, and was buried there. For two centuries this 
was hardly doubted, but Jerusalem now claims his tomb. The 
Greeks allege that St. John is buried there under the ruins 
of a church. 

Far up the side of Mount Prion is the Grotto of the Seven 
Sleepers. Eastern Christians believe that at the time of 
Diocletian seven young men with a dog went into this grotto 
to escape from their enemies, fell asleep, and did not wake for 
two hundred years, but woke with the impression they had 
slept only during the night. Going into the city they found 
everything changed; they could recognize neither the people, 
the money, nor the language. The Mohammedan believes this, 
and there is a whole chapter on the subject in the Koran : 
" The Chapter of the Cave." In Smyrna they sell rings with 
the names of the Seven Sleepers engraved upon them, which 
are used as talismans. 

From Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the 
church, and delivered a wonderful address. But his predic- 
tion has been fulfilled; grievous wolves have entered in, not 
sparing the flock. In the message to the church at Ephesus 
the church is in general commended, but its members had 
to their credit a record of works, labor, patience, and abhor- 



514 Travels in Three Continents. 

rence of evil; had tried those who said they were apostles and 
were not, and had found them liars, and had "labored and not 
fainted," and hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans. The only 
criticism is: "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, 
because thou hast left thy first love." 

The First Epistle to the Corinthians, contrary to the inscrip- 
tion which follows it in the New Testament, is believed to 
have been written by Paul when at Ephesus. The Epistle of 
Paul to the Ephesians is the most sublime of his writings, and 
justly characterized as majestic. Those who will read it in 
the light of the character of the city and its buildings will ob- 
serve what an influence his residence there must have exerted 
upon Paul's mind. 



Athens. 515 



CHAPTER LXII. 

Athens. 

The Piraeus — Tomb of Themistocles — Modern History — The Olympieum 
and Stadium — Theater of Dionysus — Odeum — Propylsea — Parthenon — View 
from the Acropolis — Mars' Hill — Hill of the Pnyx — Institutions of Athens 
— Mount Lykabettos. 

From Ephesus we returned to Smyrna, whence we sailed for 
Athens, a short voyage, but memorable from the fact that we 
gazed for hours upon the receding shores of the continent of 
Asia, sailed among celebrated islands, and scanned the motley 
crowds gathered at the ports. As the coast of Salamis, with 
its various bays, and the mountains and islands which bound 
the horizon appeared, all trace of fatigue and seasickness dis- 
appeared. Greece, historically the most absorbing to the 
mind of all the countries of Europe, and Athens, its crown 
and glory, were just before us. 

The Pirasus is a low, long hill forming an excellent harbor, 
and having at its base a flourishing seaport with a population 
of thirty or forty thousand, an entirely modern city; and when 
we were there many ships were at the piers. Some of the 
ruins are not unworthy of comparison with any in Greece. 
The tomb of Themistocles is here, and the view from the 
Acropolis, easily reached (the hill being less than three hun- 
dred feet in height), includes important parts of the city of 
Athens, the Attic Plain, the bays, the far-famed islands of 
^Egina and Salamis, and is indeed grand. 

The crowd at the landing was as numerous and noisy as any 
that we had met. There is a railway to Athens, but we pre- 
ferred to ride more slowly and become familiar with a land- 
scape every foot of which is associated with Grecian history. 
For a while the road runs along one of the two walls which 
formerly connected Athens with its harbor. One advantage 
which the carriage road has over the railroad is that it com- 
mands more views, the latter in many places passing through 
cuttings. 



5 1 6 Travels in Three Continents. 

From the ship we saw the Acropolis of Athens, and I have 
never seen another place which for the first time on a distant 
view seemed so familiar — so true to nature are the paintings 
and engravings of the Acropolis. The road was exceedingly 
dusty, and would have been very hot if not shaded by trees, 
and had not the vineyards and olive plantations given the 
country a refreshing appearance. 

As late as 1834 Athens was a miserable little village of about 
three hundred houses. That was the year of the transfer of 
the seat of government; though the standard of the war of in- 
dependence was raised in the Peloponnesus in the year 1821, 
it was not till 1833 that the Turkish troops evacuated. The 
actual business of the government began here in 1835. Since 
that event the present beautiful city has been reared. 

The important thoroughfares resemble those of the best 
cities of Europe, for Athens has the advantage of having been 
planned by a scientific architect. Its streets are regular, 
houses well built, boulevards wide, and squares spacious. The 
population is nearly a hundred thousand, though the city is of 
little importance in a commercial point of view, and derives 
what prosperity it has from being the capital, the abode of the 
king, and the only place in all Greece where polite and refined 
society can be found; and from being the resort of students 
and travelers, and the residence of many distinguished men 
who value and furnish the means of culture. 

Athens has fine hotels. Ours was the Hotel D'Etrangers, 
which we found satisfactory. There we met ex-President 
White, of Cornell University, who had stayed at the same 
hotel twenty years before. 

The newspapers are printed in Greek, and it is an interest- 
ing fact that they can be read easily by college students who 
remember their Greek ! Without serious difficulty I could 
follow the accounts of ordinary news and educational and 
religious discussions — especially when near Principal Bancroft. 
The city has street cars, aqueducts, spring water, and rivals 
Egypt in the manufacture of spurious antiquities. A regular 
business is done in fraudulent coins and gems brought 
from France. A gentleman gave me an account of an 
American merchant who had purchased several hundred dol- 



rM 



tt'U 



*\ 



, J a 




Athens. 519 

lars' worth of fraudulent antiquities, and was so disgusted 
when an expert informed him that the entire collection was 
not worth more than five dollars that, though he had in- 
tended to remain some weeks in Greece, he took the next 
steamer for Marseilles. 

The king's palace, built of marble and limestone, was 
somewhat hastily constructed, and has a superabundance of 
windows; but its situation is fine, and a general view of it 
pleasing. The palace garden is beautiful, cool, and shady. 
Services are held in the chapel every Sabbath, and those who 
attend have the opportunity of seeing the king, who worships 
devoutly. 

We attended services on Sabbath morning at the mission of 
the Rev. Mr. Kalapothakes, and heard him preach; and later 
we went to a Greek church, where the singing was character- 
istically fine, and the services ornate and protracted. 

The objects in Athens which I most desired to see were 
the ruins, battlefields, scenes of particular tragic events, and 
haunts of the philosophers, poets, sages, orators, and teachers 
who gave Greece its real glory. The Arch of Hadrian, which 
divides the old from the new city, has been gnawed by the 
tooth of Time, but inscriptions make it an historic landmark. 
•Upon the side next the town, in Greek, is this inscription: 
"This is Athens, the old city of Theseus." On the other side: 
" This is the city of Hadrian, and not of Theseus." This arch 
dates back at least to 150 A. D. 

Fifteen Corinthian columns of the Olympieum are all that 
remain of a work that began five centuries before Christ, stood 
unfinished for more than three, was then carried forward, de- 
spoiled, and finally completed by Hadrian. Only the Temple 
of Diana at Ephesus surpassed it in the vastness of its dimen- 
sions. The people congregate here on summer evenings, and 
refreshments may be obtained. There is always a breeze, and 
views of mountain, plain, city, and bay are fine. 

The Stadium, scene of the Panathenaean games, would accom- 
modate fifty thousand spectators, as it had sixty rows of seats 
running all around it, the reserved seats being made of mar- 
ble. It is still impressive, and has been improved within the last 
twenty years at the expense of the king. It gives the visitor 
27 



520 Travels in Three Continents. 

a peculiar sensation, no matter how often it is repeated, to 
tell him, as he wanders among such scenes, that succeeding 
generations have burned up statues and columns for the lime 
that their marble contained. 

The theater of Dionysus (Bacchus) has been made intelli- 
gible since 1876, and more can be learned about it now in a 
half hour than prior to that time could have been laboriously 
deciphered in a week. The student who recalls the fact that 
this is "the cradle of dramatic art of Greece, the spot in 
which the masterpieces of ^Eschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, 
and Aristophanes first excited delight and admiration," will 
wish to linger here. 

Our way to the Acropolis led past the Odeum of Herodes 
Atticus. Ascending the steps to the bastion supporting the 
Temple of Nike, we passed through the Propylaea, and with 
each step amazement deepened. Its colonnades, columns, steps 
of marble, Eleusinian stone, massive walls, and mingling of 
Ionic and Doric styles, made up a stupendous composite which 
I confess myself unable to describe without transferring bodily 
the plans and specifications prepared by the Archaeological 
Society. Yet, though almost mentally paralyzed in the 
Propylaea, I was able to perceive the superiority of the 
Parthenon, but only after exploring it for hours, and viewing* 
it from every point. The sense of its grandeur culminated in 
the conviction that it is the most magnificent work ever ex- 
ecuted by the hand of man. In the union of delicate art with 
massiveness it had no equal. The ruins of Egypt are more 
amazing; these more attractive. There brute force is seen; 
here force guided by highly-trained intellect and molded by 
exquisite sensibility. In the Parthenon one feels rather than 
thinks. The mental image of the whole, but not of its parts, 
is brought away. To-day I can see the vast inclosure as dis- 
tinctly as though I had spent yesterday upon that summit 
where two thousand years ago the Parthenon was dedicated to 
religious worship. If in its present ruined state it so affects 
the mind, what must it have been when crowned with the 
magnificent sculptures of Phidias? 

I discovered that some of the descriptions which I had 
read were dependent upon the imagination. Visitors to 



Athens. 521 

London may see many of the best sculptures in the British 
Museum ; they are known as the Elgin Marbles, and give 
greater assistance in forming an idea of the ornamentation 
of the Parthenon than can now be obtained in Athens. 

Wonderful as were these buildings, the superb site upon 
which they were placed increased their effect. To-day, one 
standing upon that hill can see the bay of Phaleron, the town 
and harbor of Piraeus, the island of Salamis, the coast as far 
as Corinth, and mountains nearly a hundred miles distant upon 
the horizon. 

Separated from the Acropolis by a shallow depression is 
Areopagus, or Mars' Hill. Here sat an ancient court, having 
supreme jurisdiction in all cases of life and death. On the 
north side of it lay the market place. To Athens Paul came 
from Berea, and waited for Silas and Timotheus. When he 
saw the city wholly given up to idolatry, he disputed in the 
synagogues with the Jews, and in the market. It was scarce 
five minutes' walk from the market to the summit of Mars' 
Hill, and it is agreed that probably on the hillside toward 
the market Paul delivered the sermon recorded in the seven- 
teenth of Acts. No church has been built there; the hill is 
as bare as any desolate rock, and is one of the few places 
not monopolized by the Jews, or by either of the two great 
divisions of Christianity, the Latin and the Greek, which have 
disputed for the possession of the Eastern World. 

Some of the English-speaking travelers and residents de- 
sired to hold a religious service upon Mars' Hill, which was 
done about 4 p. m. on Sunday. When the time came a small 
and select audience assembled, representing England, Scot- 
land, five States of the Union, Canada, and seven religious 
denominations. Three Christian bodies were represented in 
the conduct of the services. Dr. Bancroft, a minister of the 
Congregational communion, read the Scriptures and offered 
prayer ; the sermon was delivered by the writer ; and the 
closing prayer was made by Mr. Mills, of the Society of 
Friends, President of Earlham College in Indiana. Not far 
away stood several priests of the Greek Church closely watch- 
ing the proceedings. More forcible than anything said or 
sung was the fact that, though Paul was driven out of Athens, 



522 



Travels in Three Continents. 



in every part of the civilized world the religion which he 
preached is revered, and not one human being remains to 
worship the gods in whose honor was erected the Parthe- 
non, to which our voices reached. Of Paul's sermon it is 
said that " some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee 
again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. 
Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among 
the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named 
Damaris, and others with them." Not far from the place of. 
our service, toward the west, are the ruins of the Christian 
church dedicated to Dionysius the Areopagite, everything 
indicating that this spot, now utterly desolate, was densely 
populated in the time of Paul; for when he visited Athens the 
city was at the height of its magnificence. 

The hill of the Pnyx, famous as a place of meeting of the po- 
litical assemblies of the Athenians, and where were delivered 
the orations of Demosthenes and of all the great orators, com- 
mands an inspiring spectacle. The foundations of the Bema, 
or orator's stage, can yet be traced. The place of assembly 
was an artificial terrace, two hundred and twelve feet wide, 
and three hundred and ninety-five feet long. 

Athens contains numerous public institutions; among them 
the Academy of Science; the University, which has fifteen hun- 
dred students; the Library; the Polytechnic Institute, contain- 
ing Egyptian antiquities; and the Museum of the Archaeological 
Society. Dr. Schliemann's private residence we found as in- 
teresting as any other place in the city. 

At the American School I presented letters of introduction 
which had been kindly furnished me by Professor Van Ben- 
schoten, who spent one year in Athens as head of that school. 
To our regret, the director, Dr. Charles Waldstein, was absent 
from the city. The number of students was only seven, but these 
were pursuing special courses, and, making Athens a center, 
were exploring the classic cities, accompanied by the professors. 

I ascended Mount Lykabettos, nine hundred and ten feet 
above the level of the sea, an easy ascent, though steep. On 
the summit is the little Chapel of St. George. The view 
rewards the climb, as it includes a more remarkable historical 
prospect than any similar height near Rome can boast. 



Athens. 



5-*3 



The home of Sophocles is known as the Kolonos, and those 
who visit it may see the graves of Otfried Mueller and Charles 
Lenormant. But more attractive to me was the site of the 
Academy where Plato and others taught. To visit the city of 
Plato, Aristotle, Themistocles, Thucydides, Aristides, Pericles, 
and Demosthenes; to be where they lived and wrote and spoke, 
and where the chisel of Phidias carved immortality for him- 
self and his native country, accomplishes for Grecian history 
what a visit to Palestine performs for Jewish, — transforms it 
from dead literature into a living form. 



5 2 4 



Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER LXI1I. 
Corinth. 

En route — Situation and Importance — History — The Modern Town — Ruins 
at Old Corinth — Kraneion, the Home of Diogenes— Prospect from Acro- 
Corinth — Characteristics of the Greek People. 

For various reasons the traveler for pleasure will choose 
the train rather than the steamer in going from Athens to 
Corinth. The road runs north across the Attic Plain; west 
through the valley formed by Mount ^Egaleos and Mount 
Parnes; and along the boundary line between Attica and 
Megara, giving views of the Bay of Eleusis and the coast 
of Salamis. After crossing the plain of Megara, we passed 
through mountains, rocky cuttings, narrow passes, and through 
the midst continually of sea and mountain views, until, having 
traveled fifty-seven miles bristling with mythological, poetic, 
and classic associations, we reached Corinth. 

New Corinth has eight thousand inhabitants, and is three and 
a half miles northeast of the old town. A canal has recently 
been cut across the Isthmus of Corinth, connecting the gulf 
with the Saronic Gulf; but this is only the carrying out of a 
project conceived in the early period of the history of Greece, 
contemplated in the times of Caesar, Nero, and Hadrian, but 
remaining incomplete until 1881. It was built by a French 
company, is three and a half miles long, and reduces the journey 
from Messina to the Pirseus from fifty-eight hours to less than 
half that time; it also diminishes the journey from Messina to 
Constantinople by two days. Being one hundred feet wide, 
it is almost as striking in appearance as the Suez Canal. The 
railway crosses it at the height of two hundred and thirty feet; 
and there are two breakwaters, each seven hundred and eighty- 
five feet long, having lighthouses on the ends. 

There is nothing at New Corinth of special interest, as the 
place is not forty years old. Situated on a narrow isthmus, 
which connected northern Greece with the Peloponnesus, 




V 



^$,<G 



Corinth. 527 

and near both seas, no city ever had a more favorable sit- 
uation than Corinth, and from this its ancient renown and 
prosperity were derived. As a center of trade in the Greek 
world, until the Persian wars it had but two rivals, /Egina 
and Miletus, in Asia Minor. By 404 B. C. the glory of Corinth 
had culminated. It passed through various vicissitudes, each 
leaving it permanently worse than before, until it was destroyed 
by Rome under the Consul Lucius Mummius, by whom its ter- 
ritories were divided, its people enslaved. After this it was 
uninhabited for a hundred years, when Caesar reestablished 
it, and its fortunate site gave it speedy prosperity. "This 
was the Corinth that St. Paul knew, the most splendid com- 
mercial city of Greece, and the chosen abode of luxurious 
materialism and frivolous immorality." 

But where is its glory now ? Old Corinth lay in the plain, 
which gradually ascended to the foot of the citadel, and orig- 
inally had a circumference of five miles; but the walls, which 
extended to the sea, would make a circuit of fourteen miles. 
There are some columns, the remains of a temple which is con- 
sidered one of the oldest Doric monuments. The columns are 
twenty-three and a half feet high, and nearly six feet wide at 
the base. Besides these there are only a few miserable houses 
and the inn. 

Not a great distance from the tavern is the suburb of 
Kraneion, where Diogenes lived, and which was the scene of 
the famous visit to him of Alexander the Great. All that can 
be seen at Old Corinth is so insignificant as to be scarcely 
worth a visit; but the ascent to the summit of the Acropolis, 
or Aero-Corinth, should on no account be omitted. For this 
our horses were detached from the carriages and saddled for 
the steep climb of three quarters of an hour, which brought 
us to a point where they could no longer be used. Three 
lines of fortifications, built in the Middle Ages, give an almost 
inaccessible aspect to the citadel. Ruins of houses and chapels 
are scattered about, and, the prowess and conquests of Venice 
having extended as far as Corinth, old A'enetian cannon still 
lie there. A cistern nearly one hundred feet long is a relic of 
the Roman period. 

A steady climb of a half hour was required to reach the sum- 



528 Travels in Three Continents. 

mit of the Aero-Corinth, nearly two thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. The atmosphere was pellucid, and the view 
was more helpful to the comprehension of much of the impor- 
tant geography of Greece than any map, however carefully 
prepared. The mountains of Argolis, beyond which is the 
plain of Argos; the Arcadian chain, the Corinthian Gulf, like 
a sea of glass; the mass of mountains in Bceotia, Phocis, and 
JEtolia; the Peloponnesian mountains; Parnassus, Helicon, 
the Hill of the Muses; the Saronic Gulf, Salamis, ALgnva., 
many other islands, and the Attic Peninsula, were all visible, 
and good eyes could see Athens, with the Acropolis and the 
Parthenon. This is one of the grand views of the world, equal 
in beauty to that from the summit of Vesuvius, and far ex- 
celling it in sublimity. 

The desolation of the Aero-Corinth is not so complete as to 
obscure all traces of its former grandeur. In the Middle 
Ages it was of no importance, but in 1558 the Turks captured 
the fortress. In 1682 the Venetians took it, but it was recap- 
tured by the Turks in 17 15, who held it till 1821, when the 
Greeks threw off the Turkish yoke. The ruins illustrate all 
these struggles. In the worship of ancient Corinth, Apollo 
received high honors, but Venus was the presiding deity, and 
on the summit of the Aero-Corinth stood a temple to her, 
within whose precincts was practiced shameless debauchery, 
such as the apostle says is not to be named. 

The community that Paul founded there was continually 
lapsing. It assists to the understanding of many references in 
his epistles to remember that there is no reason to believe that 
the Christian community was at all numerous relatively to the 
whole population. 

The manners of the people in places of business, upon the 
streets, and in the hotels show that the Greek people are 
unusually cheerful, vivacious, intelligent, and graceful. At the 
churches the ladies are noticeable for symmetry of form, ex- 
cellent taste in dress, and in some instances for remarkable 
beauty. In Athens the Greek women generally dress like the rest 
of the population of Europe, though some, especially the poor, 
wear a fez adorned with a gold thread tassel. The Albanian 
costume is worn by many of the men; and the Albanian peas- 



Corinth. 529 

ant women are picturesque, in their full waists, embroidered 
at the sleeves, and kept in place by a leathern girdle, the 
whole covered with a short, white wool jacket, and with their 
heads and necks encircled by strings of coins. 

The men of the wealthier class are faultlessly attired, and 
in public places the better class of children appear respect- 
ful to their parents, while on the best of terms with them. 
What travelers and merchants say of the Greeks is not at all 
to their credit as respects honesty and truth. A representa- 
tive of an English house, who has for years traveled in the 
East, declares that a Greek can outwit a Jew, and an Arme- 
nian is too sharp for a Greek. I could learn nothing of impor- 
tance to the formation of an opinion as to the national 
character of the people. Unfortunately, almost all represen- 
tations agree in calling them a caricature of the French; there 
is, however, this to be said : they have a strong desire to improve 
socially and politically, and are patriotic. Wherever they go 
they love their own country and wish to return to it, and "it 
is a common occurrence for Greeks who have made fortunes 
abroad to bequeath or present their wealth to their native 
country for the erection of churches, schools, or orphanages, 
the endowment of libraries, or some similar object." Anony- 
mous gifts are made for benevolent and patriotic purposes in 
large amounts and in considerable numbers, the good effects 
of which we saw in several institutions. 

Greece appears to be the original home of the supposed ex- 
clusively American practice of treating, for when two or more 
persons drink wine or coffee together "'it is the invariable 
custom that one pays for all." 

The Greeks have one habit which might be introduced 
elsewhere with advantage. Men have often looked with 
envy upon women who converse by the hour, their hands busy 
with knitting, crocheting, embroidering, or some other oc- 
cupation which does not employ the mind, whereas men have 
nothing to do — a fact which has a bearing upon the practice 
of smoking, whereby in the intervals of conversation they are 
occupied pleasantly, often forging chains which they would be 
glad to break. In Greece the men would be supposed to be 
religious, from the fact that they generally carry strings of 



530 Travels in Three Continents. 

beads: they are not, however, rosaries used for religious pur- 
poses, but "simply supply a mechanical occupation for the 
hands during conversation," equivalent to Yankee whittling. 

Here, as in Italy, I saw conclusive evidence that the glory 
of ancient Greece and Rome was due largely to the extraor- 
dinary situation occupied by these nations. Greece was as near 
to Asia as to the rest of Europe; Italy near to Greece, and 
almost in contact with Africa; both of them maritime; both so 
situated as to have extraordinary commercial advantages, and 
when they rose into power the remainder of the continent of 
Europe and adjacent islands was in the hands of barbarians 
who could not contend successfully with Rome and Greece until 
those nations were enervated by luxury. The development 
of the world has moved upon other lines, and it is impossible 
that Greece should ever become one of the first powers, or that 
Italy should rival ancient Rome. Those nations, though dead, 
yet speak in the classic models of architecture and sculpture 
and the standards of excellence in poetry, oratory, and even 
philosophy. 

I came away from Greece convinced that it is a misnomer to 
speak of Greek as a dead language. A student who will take 
the trouble to examine the specimens of English used three 
hundred years ago will find that modern Greek as a written 
language is more like ancient Greek than modern English is 
like ancient English. But with spoken Greek it is not so. It 
is said to require a month of close study in Athens, under a 
teacher, for a person familiar with ancient Greek to become 
qualified to converse with the people. 

To the traveler in health I unhesitatingly recommend Greece 
for knowledge or pleasure. Eight weeks, half of them spent 
in the saddle, is a sufficient allowance for general travelers; 
but if one cannot stay more than a fortnight, he should select 
a few things rather than attempt many; for Greece, like 
Egypt, is confusing unless time be taken for assimilation. 



Constantinople. n. 



CHAPTER LXIV. 
Constantinople. 

Salonica— Mount Athos— The Dardanelles— Beauty of Constantinople Seen 
from the Sea of Marmora— The Golden Horn— Constantinople Made up of 
Three Dissimilar Cities— Disenchantment — Dr. Long— The Seraglio— Im- 
perial Gate — Santa Sophia. 

From Athens we returned to the Piraeus to embark for 
Constantinople. The sky was clear and the sea smooth. 
Standing upon the deck we looked long upon the mountains, 
finding our farewell glimpses even more impressive and pleas- 
ing than those obtained on arriving. It is impossible that the 
effect of sea, land, and sky should not in large measure have 
given their character to the Greeks. The most stolid could 
not gaze unmoved. Energy breathes in the air and dashes in 
the waves. Adventurous fishermen, sturdy farmers, enter- 
prising merchants, active colonists, with the products of art, 
the effusions of poetry, and the impulses of oratory, found 
not only congenial surroundings, but adequate sources and re- 
sources in this wonderful land. 

We were now to traverse a sea as renowned as any upon 
whose waters we had sailed. As the steamer moved northward 
along the coast, during the day our eyes were strained to 
identify the more celebrated points, and in the night to dis- 
cern the lights upon the mainland and islands, each suggesting 
some name famous in times of old. Soon we reached the 
gulf and shore of Salonica, a part of ancient Macedonia, other- 
wise Thessalonica. To the Thessalonians Paul wrote his 
Epistles. There, too, Cicero lived as an exile. The city of 
Salonica has a population of more than a hundred thousand. 

Another prominent feature is Mount Athos, standing upon 
one of the three prongs of the peninsula, bounded by the Gulf 
of Salonica on the southwest and the sea on the northeast. It 
is a resort of pilgrims, has one or more monasteries supported 
by each of the different nations recognizing the Greek Church, 



532 Travels in Three Continents. 

and other places of private retirement under the influence of 
esoteric principles. 

Constantine's mother is credited with being the founder of 
the first of these monasteries. No woman is allowed upon 
the peninsula, and all female animals are excluded. Even 
the Turkish officer cannot have a woman in his house. The 
government is by a holy synod of twenty deputies, one from 
each monastery, and four chosen from the community. 

Among the islands, Samothracia, Tenedos, and Lemnos 
are the most important. Threading the cluster of little islets 
at the mouth of the Hellespont, we entered the strait, the 
current being strong enough to retard our progress, and passed 
in succession the points where Xerxes's bridge of boats was 
built, where the army of Alexander crossed from Europe to 
Asia, where the crescent was first planted in Europe, A. D. 
1360, by Suliman, son of Orchan, and where Leander and Lord 
Byron swam across. 

Two ancient fortresses, called the castles of Europe and Asia, 
stand here, where the strait is but eight hundred yards wide. 
That on the Asiatic side is known as the "Earthenware 
Castle," from a famous manufactory of pottery. If properly 
fortified, it would be impossible for hostile vessels to pass. In 
old times brass guns and stone shot were used, but now some 
of the forts are supplied with Krupp guns. 

Finally we emerged into the Sea of Marmora, occupying 
ourselves with the thought of approaching a city built to rival 
and supersede Rome; an event contributing to the destruc- 
tion of the most stupendous empire of the world. This sea is 
one hundred and eight miles long. 

Of all descriptions, none are so florid as those of the ap- 
proach to Constantinople and of the Sea of Marmora; even 
the prosaic compilers of guidebooks unite to assert that there 
is no lovelier scene upon earth than that which confronts the 
traveler who approaches Constantinople. De Amicis, the 
romantic, gives a summary of the observations of celebrated 
writers who are in despair of attaining a true description. 
" Perthusiers stammers; Tournefort says that language is 
impotent; Fonqueville thinks himself transported to another 
planet; La Croix is bewildered; the Vicomte de Marcellus be- 



a 










i&rffi 



"^Ri'""-f^, 



&m 






fAk-ffiP- 



Constantinople. 535 

comes ecstatic; Lamartine gives thanks to God; Gautier doubts 
the reality of what he sees." He further says that a cold Ger- 
man declares that the loveliest illusions of youth, and even 
the dreams of a first love, are pale imaginations in the pres- 
ence of that sense of sweetness that pervades the soul at the 
sight of this enchanted region. Chateaubriand, though writ- 
ing coolly, says that it is the most beautiful spectacle in the 
world. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu puts "perhaps" be- 
fore that description, "as if leaving the first place to her own 
beauty." 

The captain advised us to rise before dawn, as the finest 
view is to be obtained at that time. Principal Bancroft and 
myself were on deck among the earliest, but the youngest 
member of our party overslept, to his sorrow and ours also; for 
without attempting what the most skillful descriptive writers 
have failed in, I declare the spectacle to be marvelous. 

The situation of Constantinople would give to any city a 
magnificent appearance in whatever style of architecture con- 
structed. The Sea of Marmora is clasped to the Black Sea, 
the Euxine of antiquity, by the Bosporus, an arm seventeen 
miles long, and varying in breadth from six hundred yards to 
two miles. In the middle it is about two thousand eight hundred 
feet wide. Bosporus appears to be an ancient name, signifying 
literally Ox-ford. There is a legend that it was given to the 
strait because across it swam Io, transformed into a cow. 
Others suppose that the name was given because the strait is 
so narrow that an ox could swim it. The name was common 
in antiquity, and therefore this was called the Thracian Bos- 
porus. 

We left the Sea of Marmora, and passed into the Bosporus, 
which here divides Europe from Asia. There are several gulfs, 
each forming two promontories. By far the most important 
of these is reached soon after entering the strait. It is at 
right angles with the Bosporus, and appears at first so to con- 
tinue; but on entering Europe it curves like the horn of an ox, 
and this is the far-famed Golden Horn. It was anciently the 
port of Byzantium, founded nearly seven hundred years be- 
fore Christ, on the promontory which faces Asia and stems 
the waters of the Bosporus; and because through it flowed the 



536 Travels in Three Continents. 

commerce of three continents it is worthy to be called the 
"Horn of Abundance." Through all the early ages the an- 
cients fought for Byzantium, notably the Persians, Spartans, 
and Athenians. It was to stir the Athenians to help to defend 
that city against Philip of Macedon that Demosthenes delivered 
his greatest oration. The tradition is that as the Macedo- 
nians were about to succeed, a light appeared in the heavens in 
the form of a crescent, by means of which they saw and es- 
caped their danger. When the Mohammedans finally conquered 
Constantinople they found upon the Byzantine coins the cres- 
cent commemorating this event, therefore it was adopted as 
the device of the conquerors of Constantinople. 

When Rome conquered the Grecian world Byzantium came 
under its control, and in A. D. 330 was made by Constantine 
the seat of his empire. In 668 the Arabs attacked it, but the 
mighty walls and Greek fire repelled them. Though besieged 
by Russians and by Latin crusaders and Mohammedans, not 
until 1453 was it finally captured by the Turks under Moham- 
med II. 

It has suffered twenty-four sieges, eighteen of which it re- 
sisted successfully. 

Constantinople now really consists of three distinct and dis- 
similar cities. Stamboul, the Turkish city, occupies the site 
in large part of Byzantium; the Sea of Marmora on the south, 
the Golden Horn to the north, and the Bosporus to the east. 
In shape it is triangular, and it requires a ride of fourteen 
miles to make the circuit of the sides. The Golden Horn is 
twenty-five hundred feet wide at the mouth, but gradually 
narrows. Stamboul, like Rome, rests upon seven hills: to the 
north, on steep slopes and over the summits of hills, are the 
suburbs of Galata, Pera, and Tophane. On the other side 
are the European cities of Galata and Pera, and a mile away, 
and the same distance from Stamboul across the Bosporus, 
spread over the hills and opposite the mouth of the Golden 
Horn, is the Asiatic quarter, Scutari. 

We gazed upon the walls with their towers, against which 
the sea breaks; Santa Sophia; the countless minarets; the 
spruces, pines, firs, and sycamores; the purple and yellow 
houses, the gardens, the mountains in the distance; the waters 



Constantinople. 537 

brilliant in the warm sunlight; the golden domes of the Greek 
churches. One minaret is not especially imposing, but hun- 
dreds, in different colors, in close proximity to domes, produce 
an indescribable charm. In the distance was Kadi Kaioi 
built upon the ruins of the ancient Calcedonia, once the rival 
of Byzantium; that Calcedonia which was founded B. C. 685 
by the Megarians, to whom, for having chosen that site instead 
of the point where Stamboul stands, the oracle of Delphi gave 
the title of the blind people. 

Of all illustrations of distance lending enchantment to the 
view this stands preeminent. As sunset after a day of fogs is 
sometimes glorious, and a few moments afterward the clouds 
lower and night closes in mist, so when one wanders about the 
streets of Constantinople he finds that De Amicis does not exag- 
gerate when he says: " The vision of this morning has vanished. 
The Constantinople of light and beauty has given place to a 
monstrous city scattered over an infinity of hills and valleys; it is 
a labyrinth of human ant-hills, cemeteries, ruins, and solitudes; 
a confusion of civilization and barbarism which presents an 
image of all the cities upon earth, and gathers to itself all the 
aspects of human life. It is but the skeleton of a city, of which 
the smaller part is walls and the rest an enormous aggregation 
of barracks, an interminable Asiatic encampment, in which 
swarms a population which has never been counted, of every 
race and every religion. It is a city in process of transforma- 
tion, composed of cities in decay, cities of yesterday, and 
cities now being born; everything is in confusion; on every 
side are seen traces of gigantic works, mountains pierced, hills 
cut down, houses leveled to the ground, great streets designed: 
an immense mass of rubbish and remains of conflagration upon 
ground forever tormented by the hand of man. . . . Take a 
step in advance, behold a wide panorama; take another back- 
ward, there is nothing to be seen; lift your eyes, a thousand 
minarets; descend one step, they are all gone. . . . An in- 
describable architecture, apparently of expediency, lends itself 
to the caprices of the ground, with a crowd of houses cut into 
points in the form of triangular towers, of erect and overturned 
pyramids, surrounded with bridges, ditches, props, gathered 
together like broken fragments of a mountain." 



538 Travels in Three Continents. 

Experience of many cities built upon hills had taught me 
that the perspective is continually foreshortened, and that 
darkness and dampness in many quarters are the price paid 
for light and splendor in others. Neither is it possible to 
have rectangular streets, nor to avoid tunnels, precipices, and 
embankments. Yet the constant transitions of view yield 
successive surprises and contrasts, which give to such cities a 
charm that those built upon plains can never possess unless 
they contain a multitude of domes, towers, and spires. It was 
to do away with the littleness and monotony of the plains that 
the mighty temples, obelisks, pyramids, and colossi of Egypt 
were erected. 

It took considerable time to recognize the ephemeral char- 
acter of the beauty and grandeur of the view which had held 
us entranced upon the ship's deck, amid the morning dews and 
damps, from three o'clock until we landed at eight. We then 
began to plan a systematic exploration of the city, the result 
of which was new wonderment which remains to this day. 

At intervals for years I had promised an old friend, Dr. 
Long, of Robert College, to visit him in Constantinople, and 
at last had been able to inform him of the probable time 
of my arrival. Before we were fairly settled he honored us 
with a call, and placed his time at our service. It was a de- 
light to see the universal consideration with which he is 
treated in the city where he has spent so many years; and it 
was a constant surprise to observe him talking with Turks in 
Turkish, Bulgarians in Bulgarian, Germans in German, and 
Frenchmen in French; indeed, he seemed as a magician, in- 
dependent of the common limitations of humanity. Every 
man whom he met heard him in his own tongue; not as cour- 
iers who chatter like magpies their familiar phrases, but as 
one who understood the language critically, made it second 
nature, and spoke it with the facility of a native. Yet Dr. 
Long is such a many-sided man that he is not Professor of 
Languages, as might be supposed, but of Natural Sciences. 
He is practically the physician among the Turks of the region 
around the college, and the people who were constantly com- 
ing and going seemed to regard him as an arbiter of life and 
death. 



Constantinople. 539 

Taking carriages, we made the circuit of the walls of Stam- 
boul. They were built by Constantine the Great, and by his 
successors repaired in alternate courses of brick and stone, 
and extend along both shores close to the sea, the founda- 
tion sometimes being under water. The length of the walls 
is about thirteen miles. A traveler who has seen every 
important wall on the face of the globe declares that the 
walls of defense which extend from the seven towers on the 
Sea of Marmora to the shore of the Golden Horn are not 
surpassed elsewhere in the world in beauty or desolation. 
"These are the walls," says a French traveler, "of Constan- 
tine — at least, what is left of them after time, sieges, and 
earthquakes have done their worst." The breaches made by 
catapults and ancient battering rams are plainly to be seen. 
Some of the towers are rent and their fragments tumbled into 
the ditch, and they are everywhere overgrown with rank grass, 
trees, shrubs, and in some cases are held up by the roots and 
branches of plants. It is a triple wall, with two rows of 
towers. The late Sultan Abdul Aziz gave these to his mother 
to be destroyed and sold for building materials, and but for 
the interposition of the British minister one of the finest re- 
mains of antiquity would have been destroyed. 

During this tour we were accompanied by Professor Millin- 
gen, of Robert College, who has made a special study of me- 
diaeval architectural remains, and enlightened us upon many 
points. 

The Seraglio presents as great a contrast to what it was as 
the Alhambra, yet it is one of the principal features of Con- 
stantinople. The palace stands on the extreme point of the 
promontory at the mouth of the Golden Horn, which stretches 
toward Asia at the entrance to the Bosporus. The half- 
ruined state of the walls and towers at first strikes the eye, 
but not unpleasantly. Like the Alhambra, the buildings, hav- 
ing been erected at different times, according to the caprice 
of the princes and Sultans, form an establishment destitute of 
harmony. The buildings are on the top of the hill, and the 
gardens below reach to the sea. The huge trees, the grass 
contrasting with the sparkling waters of the Bosporus, the 
ruined walls, and the structures on the high plateau, give a 
28 



540 Travels in Three Continents. 

splendid prospect to an observer from the lower points, and 
especially from the deck of a vessel. 

The Sublime Porte, otherwise called the Babi Humaioom, 
or Imperial Gate, has arrangements for luxurious living more 
elaborate than the world ever saw elsewhere. The kitchens 
have no chimneys, but are surmounted by perforated domes 
through which the smoke escaped. There are nine kitchens; 
the first was for the Sultan, the second for the chief Sultana, 
the third for the other Sultanas, and the remainder for the 
officers and servants. Since the time of Sultan Mahmood 
the Ottoman emperors have not lived there, but in the days 
of its glory the Grand Vizier, assisted by his counselors, therein 
determined all causes without appeal. In the same center of 
authority and regal magnificence embassadors were enter- 
tained. Interesting collections of jewels, oriental weapons, 
carpets, chairs, clocks, etc., are exhibited to the curious. 

Had I not already described the mosques of Morocco, 
Algiers, Egypt, and Jerusalem, I should attempt a description 
of several of the mosques of Constantinople; but as all are 
similar in general features, I shall mention but two in this 
conglomeration of Mohammedan ecclesiastical edifices. 

Santa Sophia was founded in A. D. 325, the twentieth year 
of the reign of Constantine, the year in which was opened the 
Council of Nice, and was dedicated to the second Person of the 
Holy Trinity, Eternal Wisdom. In 404 it was set on fire by 
the followers of Chrysostom when they were exiled; rebuilt by 
Theodosius II in 415; burned to the ground in 532 in the time 
of Justinian, and by him rebuilt and greatly enlarged in 538. 
Twenty years afterward the eastern half of the dome fell, but 
was rebuilt still more magnificently. To adorn it the finest 
marble, granite, and porphyry were brought from all parts of 
the world; eight columns from the Temple of the Sun at Baal- 
bec, and many from Athens, Troas, Heliopolis, and Ephesus. 
The Mohammedans have modified it, and on the minarets glit- 
ter crescents, and the cupola is of vast size. Various mirac- 
ulous sites are pointed out and curiosities shown; among them 
the cradle of the Saviour, and the basin in which he is said to 
have been bathed. There is a column which sweats, and the 
Turks believe that the dampness which gathers upon it will 



Constantinople. 543 

produce miraculous cures. There is a mysterious window and 
a stone of beautiful pure Persian marble, almost transparent, 
which reflects the rays of the sun with dazzling brilliancy. 

Having taken off our shoes according to the law, we entered 
the mosque, passing the cistern, the fountain of ablution, to 
which every Mohammedan goes as he enters the holy place. 

The mutilation of the crosses by the Turks was apparent. To 
one standing beneath the dome it seemed as though balanced 
in the air. This marvelous achievement of architecture is one 
hundred and seven feet in diameter, rises forty-six feet, and is 
elevated one hundred and eighty feet above the ground. On 
the walls are the names of the four attendants of the Prophet. 
They seem to be supporting four six-winged seraphim, repre- 
senting Mohammedan archangels, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, 
and Israfel, whose names are inscribed in letters ten yards 
long. The original altar built by the Christians faced the 
east, but the Mohammedans could not use it; for according 
to their law every man must pray with his face toward Mecca, 
which is southeast from Constantinople. The pulpitis on the 
same line. Every Friday the prayer is read for the Sultan, and 
the Sheik who reads it has to carry a wooden sword into the 
pulpit, which has been the usage in all mosques first dedicated 
to Islam through the power of arms, in remembrance of the 
custom of Mohammed, who preached with the Koran in one 
hand and the sword in the other. Two flags hang there to 
show the victory of Islam over Judaism and Christianity, and 
of the Koran over the Old and New Testaments. 

As I was turning away from Santa Sophia, thinking it more 
magnificent than St. Peter's at Rome, but hardly daring to 
suggest such a thought, a traveler called my attention to a 
passage in the second volume of Ferguson's Architecture, in 
which the author expresses doubts whether "any Christian 
church exists of any age whose interior is so beautiful as this 
marvelous creation of Byzantine art." 



544 Travels in Three Continents. 

CHAPTER LXV. 
Constantinople. — (Continued.) 

The Sultan's Forty-seventh Birthday — The Floating Bridge — Along the 
Shore of the Bosporus to the Black Sea — Ships and Boats — The Arme- 
nians — Head of the Greek Church — Support of Mosques — Muezzin — Phil- 
anthropies of the Mosque of Suliman — Spinning Dervishes — Robert Col- 
lege. 

We arrived in Constantinople on the forty-seventh anni- 
versary of the Sultan's birth, and at night the city was gor- 
geously illuminated. My enthusiastic traveling companion 
declared that he had never seen anything comparable to the 
brilliancy and variety of the pyrotechnic displays of that 
occasion. Despots while in power are certain to be honored. 
Practically they praise themselves; the people pay the bills 
nolens volens, but as they enjoy the spectacle, such exhibitions 
of sovereign power and glory may be among the most potent 
means of sustaining the institutions. The late Czar of 
Russia was received with eclat on his visit to Warsaw, but, 
a day or two before, I had seen hundreds of those who would 
not do him honor dragged to the citadel, and in the streets 
through which he would pass the windows were ordered closed, 
and sentinels stationed everywhere lest the bullet of the 
assassin, sent from his lurking place, find its way to the 
brain or heart of the subject of such seemingly unanimous 
praises. The history of modern Turkey shows that soon after 
such celebrations the Sultan may drink a cup of coffee that 
disagrees with him ! 

A floating bridge, a quarter of a mile long, connects Galata 
with the opposite shore of the Golden Horn. It would be 
worth a journey of a week each year of one's life to stand for 
three hours at the end of that structure. 

"The exhaustless currents of human beings that meet and 
mingle forever from the rising of the sun until his setting 
presents a spectacle before which the market places of India, 
the fair of Nijni Novgorod, and the festivals of Peking pale." 



-- .j^r 




Constantinople. 547 

The fair of Nijni Novgorod surpasses for the same period 
of time this pageant; but it lasts only a few days, while 
these scenes continue winter and summer, from generation 
to generation. Turks on donkeys, long lines of camels; 
Negresses, Armenians, Greek women with skullcaps and 
streaming hair, Mohammedan women on foot, veiled wom- 
en, Tartars clad in sheepskins; Catholic priests and sisters 
of charity, Persians, Jews, English travelers, Frenchmen, 
Germans, easily identified; friars of different orders, some 
bald and others wearing cowls; military officers; men 
wearing the uniforms of the navies of the different nations; 
peasants, dervishes, Circassians, "who go in groups of three 
and five together with slow steps; big bearded men, of ter- 
rible countenance, wearing bearskin caps like the old Napo- 
leonic Guard, long black caftans, daggers at their girdles, 
and silver cartridge boxes on their breasts; real figures of 
banditti, who look as if they had come to Constantinople to 
sell a daughter or a sister, their hands imbrued in Russian 
blood." We went to this bridge half a dozen times, and 
learned to distinguish the Bulgarians, Georgians, Cossacks, 
Egyptians, and other races. 

The contrasts in costume and colors were astonishing. So 
many languages, intensified by the characteristic voices of 
different peoples, some a terrible guttural bass, others a me- 
tallic baritone, and still others rising into shrill cries and 
piercing shrieks, made a startling jargon. 

The people of Constantinople are continually embarking 
and disembarking. The configuration of the city makes it 
possible to go from business to residence by steamers, much 
after the manner of the population of London along the 
Thames, or of Paris along the Seine. Many steamers on the 
Bosporus pass alternately along the Asiatic and European 
shores, and excursions can be made at will. The beauty of the 
scenery is enhanced by unusual formations; for the Bosporus 
is really a chain of lakes formed by several promontories on 
the European shore. "Seven currents in seven different di- 
rections follow windings of the shore. Each has a counter 
current, whereby the water driven by violence into the several 
bays thus flows upward in an opposite direction into the other 



548 Travels in Three Continents. 

half of the channel." Besides, there are seven bays on the 
European side, corresponding to the promontories on the 
Asiatic, and only the unimaginative spirit could fail to dis- 
cern what changes of scenery must result from shores thus 
broken. The Turkish names of the villages are wonder- 
fully suggestive. A few on the European side are historically 
significant, others pastorally. Galata, the abode of the god; 
Tophane, artillery manufacture; others signify the dried 
fountain; the farm village; European poplar; the babe; the 
hazel nut village. On the Asiatic side are the point of quails, 
the fig village, the heavenly water. One has a tragic signifi- 
cance, the bloody; another a restful sound, the weary man's 
village. 

Dr. Long accompanied us to the Black Sea, pointing out 
the palaces, villas, and historical points. From the remot- 
est point of time of which records have been preserved, the 
dangers of navigation at the entrance of the Bosporus to the 
Black Sea have been great. 

The Symplegades, otherwise the Cyanean rocks, are those 
through which Jason sailed to capture the golden fleece. 
Beacons have been recently erected, light-ships placed at the 
entrance, and a service according to the practice of more west- 
ern nations has been established for the saving of lives. 

The Giant's Mountain is the highest hill on the shores of the 
Bosporus, and the view from it is thus described by Byron: 

" The wind swept down the Euxine, and the wave 

Broke foaming o'er the blue Symplegades. 
'Tis a grand sight from off the ' Giant's Grave ' 

To watch the progress of these rolling seas 
Between the Bosporus, as they lash and lave 

Europe and Asia, you being quite at ease." 

We reached sufficient elevations in some of our tours to real- 
ize the correctness of Byron's description. He subsequently 
describes, in language not quite in harmony with the standard 
of this age, the tendency of the dangerous breakers on the 
Euxine to produce seasickness. 

The Mohammedans say that Joshua is buried on the summit 
of the Giant's Mountain, and Dr. Long informed us that the 
Turks make pilgrimages to the summit in order to be cured of 



Constantinople. 549 

diseases. They pray at the tomb and drink, in a cup of water, 
some of the sand. They also leave pieces of their clothes 
hanging there, on the theory that as the fragments are aired 
the disease will disappear. 

A delightful excursion was taken on the Golden Horn. On 
these boats the fares are so low, the crowds so great, the 
steamers so peculiar, and the divisions upon them so arbitrary, 
as to give a stranger a feeling of insecurity. But the inhab- 
itants, accustomed to things, have no fear, and accidents are 
infrequent. 

Ironclads, war vessels, passenger steamers from every coun- 
try in Europe, ships laden with corn from Russia or from the 
countries along the Danube, Greek and Turkish coasters, 
surround one, and among them "hundreds of kaiks go, and 
swift as dragon-flies flit here and there with loads of gold- 
bedizened beys or veiled women." 

The spectacle which entrances the traveler has no effect 
upon the individuals who afford it. They never look at each 
other, have marvelous agility in keeping out of each other's 
way, and most of them, except where two or three are travel- 
ing together, are' as silent and grave in their appearance as if 
on their way to a funeral, though hurrying as if belated. 

The Armenians in Constantinople are an important part of 
the population. Their country, an elevated plain, the height 
of the central divide between the Atlantic and Pacific, culmi- 
nating in Mount Ararat, was for ages the frontier of Chris- 
tianity. The Armenians, wherever found, are men of influence 
and ability, surpassing both Greeks and Jews in commercial 
enterprise, especially in the Turkish empire. Having visited 
their churches in Russia, Jerusalem, Greece, and Smyrna, I 
was curious to see them in Constantinople, and found their 
ritual, while resembling that of the Greek Church, to be less 
paganish. The American Board has been very successful in 
Constantinople among Armenians. 

The head of the universal Greek Church is the Patriarch of 
Constantinople, and is greatly venerated. The Russians and 
several other peoples, however, will not submit to his jurisdic- 
tion. The one requisite among the Armenians is ability to 
read the prayers and lessons, and the unusual spectacle is pre- 



55° 



Travels in Three Continents. 



sented of a large religious organization whose priests are in- 
ferior in point of education and culture to the majority of their 
people. The Greek priests are often still more ignorant. 

Struck by the number of mosques, I inquired how they are 
supported. They are heavily endowed, holding a species of 
mortgage on tracts of land in the city, which are sold subject 
to ground rent, or mosque tax. If one proposes to purchase 
real estate in Constantinople the first question to be asked is 
whether it is thus subject, and, if so, to what extent; for who- 
ever purchases must pay tribute to the mosque. 

I frequently listened to the call to prayer known as the 
muezzin. At the appointed time the proper officer ascends 
the minaret, and walks around, uttering words which cause 
every faithful Mohammedan to perform his devotions. The 
call signifies: "God is good! Bear witness that there is no 
god but God. Bear witness that Mohammed is the prophet 
of God. Come to prayer! Come to felicity! God is great! 
There is no god but God." 

The Mosque of Suliman the Magnificent, though built on the 
general pattern of Santa Sophia, was intended to surpass it. The 
result was the most beautiful extant specimen of architecture 
originally intended for a mosque. Here are the largest mono- 
liths in Constantinople. The windows are ornamented with 
flowers; the two finest, of stained glass, were captured from 
the Persians by the founder. Besides being a place of worship, 
it is a philanthropic institution, supporting three schools, four 
academies for the four different sects of the faithful, a school 
of medicine, a hospital, a kitchen for the poor, a resting place 
for tourists, a library, a fountain, and a house of refuge for 
strangers. 

The Sultan's weekly journey to the mosque for religious wor- 
ship is an event in Constantinople. Having obtained through 
Mr. Straus, the minister of the United States, a permit to 
enter a house owned by the Sultan, we were present at the ap- 
pointed time, immediately in front of the mosque. Usually 
the Sultan starts about twelve o'clock, and the name of the 
particular mosque he intends to visit is made known a little 
before that hour. The way was lined with troops, the body- 
guard of the Sultan in splendid uniform leading the proces- 



Constantinople. 



553 



sion. Until recently he went on horseback, but on this oc- 
casion sat in a carriage, which passed near us. He was a grave 
solemn-looking man, appearing much older than he really 
is; his beard iron gray, complexion sallow, and his eyes were 
heavy. 

On this occasion there were several thousand troops, and 
the display was fine. When the Sultan had passed, coffee and 
sherbet were served to us, after which we withdrew. 

Accompanied by Professor Long, who explained the vari- 
ous steps of the performance, we visited the spinning der- 
vishes. They are named Mevlevi, and performed in a con- 
vent known as Tekke. As they enter the circular mosque, 
monotonous music is heard, which is performed upon a kind 
of flute. The chief seats himself, and the dervishes bow before 
him; having removed their outer garments, they extend their 
arms, raise their heads, and begin to spin. 

They were grave and serious, keeping perfect time, and 
their motions were, though rapid, so regular and easy that 
their garments appeared to be a part of themselves. It is 
suspected that their skirts are weighted, as it seems impossi- 
ble that they should so perfectly follow the movements of 
the body unless they received an impulse which could not be 
communicated to light fabrics. Dr. Long represented them 
as a worthy class of Turkish citizens. Viewed as dancers, 
they are entitled to praise for the perfection of their move- 
ments; but they exhibited systematic fanaticism rather than 
genuine ecstasy. There was no indication of loss of conscious- 
ness as there was with the howling dervishes. 

More than seventy orders of dervishes exist in the Moham- 
medan world, some composed of intelligent men. I was in- 
troduced to a Sheik, and visited him at his residence, being 
received with oriental courtesy, and by the aid of an inter- 
preter had a memorable religious conversation. The secrets 
of the worship of that order I could not penetrate, as no one is 
allowed to be present; but the room and its contents were 
shown to us. The views expressed of the Deity by that di- 
vine do not differ as to the divine attributes from those pre- 
vailing among Christians. He gave a definite rank to Jesus 
Christ, like most Mohammedans, regarding him as one of three 



554 



Travels in Three Continents. 



prophets, Moses, Christ, and Mohammed, of whom the last is 
the greatest. 

Robert College, to which so many Americans have contrib- 
uted, is situated on the heights of Roumeli Hissar, which 
rise on the shore of the Bosporus, not far from the village of 
Bebek. The professors are gentlemen of high character and 
culture; the spirit of the institution all that could be desired. 
It encounters a difficulty not met in anything like the same 
degree at Beirut, in the number of languages and dialects 
spoken by the students. 

The history of this now celebrated college blends the philo- 
sophical and the romantic. The American missionaries in 
Turkey found, after a short time, that without the means of a 
higher education their work would come to a standstill. This 
situation became known to Christopher R. Robert, a New 
York merchant, who in i860 proposed to Dr. Hamlin to sun- 
der his connection with the American Board and come to 
America to raise money for the object. Mr. Robert agreed 
to pay his expenses and give him ten thousand dollars to start 
the subscription. At that time he had no idea of founding a 
college and no thought of giving it his name, but he went 
on until, including what he bequeathed, he had given over 
four hundred thousand dollars to the college. 

On July 4, 1869, the corner stone was laid. In 1863 Dr. 
Hamlin opened the college with four students. The new 
building was finished in May, 187 1, and when the new year 
began in September, one hundred and seventy students were 
enrolled. For a number of years the Turks refused to grant 
an imperial charter. Since they granted the charter the rights 
of the college have been respected, and additional favors have 
been granted when asked. While they have sought to coun- 
teract the influence of the college, they have done it "in a 
legitimate way by the founding of schools and colleges of their 
own, and trying to make them more attractive than Robert 
College." 

During its history the institution has had one thousand five 
hundred and fifty-one students; and the average time spent 
by the nongraduates is three, and by the graduates six years. 

The majority have been Americans, Bulgarians, and Greeks; 



Constantinople. 555 

and they have had, besides these, Austrians, Circassians, Al- 
banians, Jews, Persians, Russians, Armenians, Assyrians, Ser- 
vians, and Turks, and a few Danes, Frenchmen, Italians, 
Germans, and English. Of the alumni, forty-six have be- 
come government officials, many of high rank; twelve judges, 
seventy-one teachers, including professors and principals; ten 
editors, twenty-two lawyers, twenty-four physicians; the ma- 
jority of the students have become merchants and bankers, 
now scattered all over the world. 

As the higher schools in Constantinople are openly atheistic, 
while there is great jealousy among the Greek and Armenian 
Churches of the advance of Protestantism, their most distin- 
guished ecclesiastical authorities are disposed to support Robert 
College as a bulwark against atheism. 

George Washburn, D.D., is President, and Professor of 
Psychology, Ethics, and Political Economy. Dr. Long, who 
originally went to Turkey and Bulgaria as a missionary of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, is Vice President, and Professor 
of Natural Sciences. 



556 Travels in Three Continents. 



CHAPTER LXVI. 
Constantinople. — (Concluded. ) 

Turkish Burying Grounds of Scutari — English Cemetery and Florence Night- 
ingale's Hospital — American Bible House — Portraits of the Sultans — Rise 
and Fall of the Janizaries — The Turk — Column of the Three Serpents — 
Fountains — Censorship of the Press — A Translator Perforce — The Sultan 
and Laborer. 

Scutari is the largest of the suburbs of Constantinople, and 
has been for ages the post station for Asiatic couriers, the 
rendezvous of caravans from Asia, and is the point where 
travelers going East begin their journey. It, too, has seven 
hills. 

The burying grounds at Scutari are extensive and beautiful. 
A careful writer says that probably an accurate census of the 
present Turkish population would not be found to exceed the 
twentieth part of the tenants of that single cemetery. Every 
Turk has his own grave. 

The tombstones are of Marmora marble, and those which 
mark the graves of men have carved upon them a representa- 
tion of the headdress which they wore in life. Sultan Mah- 
mood's favorite horse is interred in this cemetery under a 
marble canopy resting upon six columns. 

The English burying ground is near the hospital, the scene 
of the labors which made immortal the name of Florence 
Nightingale. The tombs of many British officers, some of dis- 
tinction, are here, and beneath mounds are the remains of 
eight thousand nameless dead. The hospital has been turned 
into barracks. 

We ascended hills whence we commanded a splendid pros- 
pect of Stamboul, the Bosporus, Sea of Marmora, glimpses of 
the Black Sea and far-off mountains of Asia and Europe. 

The renowned Bible House of Constantinople is well adapted 
to its purpose; marked in all its departments by evidences of 



Constantinople. 557 

American energy, and also by indications of conservative 
management. 

Looking from an upper window I perceived a long, low 
block near by, and said to Mr. Bliss, who was conducting us 
through the establishment: 

"Does the Bible House corporation own that block? " 

" It does not." 

"When that is removed, if buildings of the character of 
others in the street are erected, your views from these win- 
dows will be cut off." 

" No," said he, " they cannot do that; we own the air. " 

" What does that mean? " 

"There is a custom in Constantinople of selling the 
air above houses, which makes it impossible for the owner 
to build above a certain point, and we have taken the pre- 
caution to purchase the air between here and the end of the 
block." 

At the Treasury we saw bowls full of rubies and other precious 
stones, reminding me of the magnificence of Russia. Thence 
we went to a kiosk., which commands entrancing prospects of 
the gardens and the Golden Horn. 

One of the members of the "great house of Vanderbilt " 
was present, and the consul general paid special attention 
to him and to his party. This made another wealthy citizen 
of the United States so angry that, like the elder brother in 
the parable of the prodigal son, he "would not go in," be- 
cause he could not bear to see the "consul general dancing 
attendance on Vanderbilt;" — another scene in the ceaseless 
play of human ambition, the chief actors probably alike un- 
conscious. 

Among the remarkable things seen that afternoon was 
a succession of portraits of the Sultans, from the conquest of 
Constantinople down to the present time. The contrast 
between the oriental dress and ferocious aspect of the con- 
querors and the European attire and mild look of the more 
recent, is suggestive. 

Visiting the scene of their massacre, I inquired into the 
history and examined the relics of the Janizaries. Beginning 
as new troops, from which the name is derived, after irregular 



558 Travels in Three Continents. 

service of thirty years, they were organized in 1362, and formed 
the earliest standing army in Europe. 

The southern Slavic kingdoms were conquered, and one 
fifth of the captives, including all the able-bodied youth, were 
converted to Islamism and trained as soldiers. Three 
hundred years ago they were the best disciplined body 
of soldiers in all Europe. Afterward they deteriorated, 
for instead of being drawn from the Christian prisoners of 
war, they were recruited from menials and idlers. They often 
mutinied, and sometimes deposed Sultans or put them to 
death, and robbed cities over which they were appointed as 
guards. 

An attempt to discipline them caused the abdication and 
death of Selim, and on November 14, 1808, they committed 
the most terrible outrages ever perpetrated in Europe. The 
new Sultan was compelled to pardon them, but secretly 
planned their destruction. He allured some of their officers 
and many Mohammedan priests and dervishes to support his 
views, and published a decree that from each regiment one 
hundred and fifty Janizaries should be formed into a regular 
militia. At this they revolted, and on June 14, 1826, were 
guilty of frightful outrages. Then came the crisis expected 
by Mahmood II, when he determined upon their destruction. 
Troops were in readiness, the sacred standard of Mohammed 
was displayed, and the best citizens supported the troops. 
Artillery, already in position, was prepared for the con- 
flict. The end was this: "Burned alive in their bar- 
racks; cannonaded in the At Meidan (which we visited), 
where they made their most desperate defense; massacred 
singly in the streets during three months; the remainder 
condemned to exile." More than twenty-five thousand were 
slaughtered, since which time the Janizaries have ceased to 
exist. The Mamelukes of Egypt were cavalry; the Janizaries 
infantry. 

The present Sultan is Abdul Hamid II. His brother, 
Murad, was the legitimate successor, but being deposed because 
of insanity, his uncle, Abdul Aziz, became the Sultan. He was 
soon deposed and murdered, and is now popularly spoken of as 
"Abdul as was." 



Constantinople. 559 

Wherever I went among the Turks I listened and observed; 
for they differ from any race with which I have been brought 
in contact. 

The term Mohammedan refers to religion; Turk to race. 
The true name for Mohammedanism is Islam, a religion of 
Semitic origin; the Turks are of a different descent. There 
are not more than seven millions of Turks in the world, while 
there are more than a hundred and fifty millions of Moham- 
medans. "The Turks had their home in the steppes of 
Central Asia, and are of the same race as the Tartars of the 
Crimea, the Kisil-Bash of Armenia, the Kalmucks of the Cau- 
casus, and the Turkomans of Khiva." 

The Turkish power originated in a band of Turkish slaves, 
made the bodyguard of a Caliph of Bagdad. Soon they became 
masters. A hundred years afterward they embraced Moham- 
medanism. Their Sultan — which name really means ruler — 
they called " Protector of the Father of the Faithful." In 1072 
the Sultan, Alp Arslan, defeated the Byzantine Emperor, and 
ruled all Asia Minor. I quote the most condensed statement 
of their history: "To suppose that such an empire as that of 
the Turks could have been founded and maintained by simple 
force, under such strangely exceptional circumstances, is to 
contradict the plainest facts of human nature. They ruled 
their empire with a moderation and wisdom long unknown in 
western Asia, and they treated those of other creeds with a 
clemency which contrasted favorably with the Christian 
nations of Europe in that age." 

Their recent history is known to students. At present those 
of Turkish blood are a small minority in the Turkish empire. 
A particular aspect is common to them; — dreamy, serious, 
self-contained, grave; a countenance that does not promptly 
respond, and kindles no enthusiasm. Ideal descriptions of 
them have been given which would lead one to suppose that they 
had no thirst for knowledge, desire for gain, or wish to travel; 
no love, and no ambition. Yet he who sees them transacting 
business will observe indications of interest, and one who 
watches closely will find evidences of all the passions of human 
nature. Indolence, consciousness of superiority, belief in 
destiny, low views of women, and in the case of the more 



560 Travels in Three Continents. 

bigoted continual doubt and suspicion of all other races, are 
marked traits. 

All that I could gather leads to the conclusion that the 
name of Turk, like that of Jew, has more odium to carry than 
it deserves. Hospitality is universal, their system of etiquette 
elaborately designed to make guests comfortable, and a larger 
proportion of them than of oriental Christians are true to 
their religious views. Protestants in Turkey receive better 
treatment than they would if Russia were in command of the 
country. 

The Turks are not without wit. One specimen which I 
heard was this: "Said a dervish to a camel: 'What makes 
your lip so crooked?' to which the camel replied: 'What 
is there straight about me that you should take exception to 
my lip? ' " 

Another was a story of a man who called upon a Turk to 
borrow his donkey. The owner declared that he was not at 
home. While the conversation was progressing the donkey 
from within brayed. Said the applicant: "There, he is 
here. Let me have him." Said the Turk: "I will lend 
no man anything who will believe a donkey's voice against 
mine." 

The bronze Column of the Three Serpents, about fifteen 
feet high, with the tails of the serpents downward and the 
bodies twisted spirally as far as the necks, is a curiosity. 
The heads of these serpents formerly spread outward, and 
supported the golden tripod of the priest of Apollo at Delphi. 

An obelisk of Egyptian granite, fifty feet high, stands in 
the center of the hippodrome. Constantine was obliged to 
leave the hippodrome unfinished on receiving information that 
the Gauls threatened to attack Rome. 

Another column, nearly one hundred feet in height, formed 
of pieces of porphyry, joined together with copper rings, is 
called the Burnt Column, on account of the blackness resulting 
from fires to which the city has been exposed. Once it was 
surmounted by a statue of Apollo, the work of Phidias. 

Seven Towers, which stand at the southwest angle of Con- 
stantinople, where the walls join the Sea of Marmora, remind 
one of the Tower of London. The Janizaries used this as a 



Constantinople. 561 

prison for the Sultans whom they had dethroned, or assas- 
sinated them there. No less than seven Sultans have been 
put to death in that way. In this place, in old times, when- 
ever men were thus killed, their heads were hung from the 
battlements. 

The city abounds in fountains, carved with representations 
of vases filled with flowers and artistic arrangements of fruit. 
Some are very large, culminating in a series of domes. In 
the beautiful suburbs of Constantinople are the Sweet Waters 
of Asia and the Sweet Waters of Europe: these are the parks 
to which multitudes go. There are fine carriage roads, and to 
the Sweet Waters of Asia the drive is six miles. 

Slavery still exists, but the slave market described by trav- 
elers of a few years ago is abolished. The natives of Georgia 
and Circassia are still brought to Constantinople. These are 
white slaves: I saw two supposed to have recently arrived. 
The Circassian women who come to Constantinople from 
homes of poverty and hardship, on their arrival are not attract- 
ive in appearance; but after being subjected to a daily Turk- 
ish bath, being protected from the sun, and having the benefit 
of wholesome food, they become really beautiful in appearance. 
Turkish wives are not kept in a state of slavery. Those who 
have opportunity to know say that they have more liberty than 
European women, being allowed to roam at will through the 
bazaars and to drive in disguise through the streets. The wives 
of men of rank are always accompanied by eunuchs, but others 
are unattended; it was a surprise to me to see them going 
about the streets with apparent freedom. 

The guests of wealthy Turks are treated with hospital- 
ity, and all the finery belonging to the women is displayed. 
Ladies only can obtain admittance to the harems, and one 
has written an account of what she saw. Speaking of the 
clothes, she says: "The visitor must express admiration, but 
not astonishment; for in the latter case she would then be 
classed as poor, having no fine clothes of her own, and 
treated during the rest of her visit accordingly." This lady 
also makes an observation which can be applied in other parts 
of the world: "Though Turkish ladies will pass over any dis- 
play of coarseness or rudeness, they are quite able to distin- 
29 



562 Travels in Three Continents. 

guish between any practice which arises from a difference of 
manners and that which springs from a want of breeding in a 
woman." 

In the streets of Constantinople eunuchs are seen riding 
with the wives of their owners, or leading children, and are dis- 
tinguishable by their dress, height, beardless faces, and effem- 
inate manners. They are usually very black. 

Dogs run wild, not one in five hundred having an owner; 
they have a perfect police system, being divided into districts, 
and if any dog crosses the boundary line by the length of his 
body all the dogs of that department try to kill him. 

Having heard much of the censorship of the press, and hav- 
ing had the opportunity of seeing its workings in Russia, I was 
interested to ascertain to what supervision literary men are 
obliged to submit under the present press regulations of Tur- 
key. The editor of a paper in Constantinople must constantly 
have on hand a certain amount of matter, to serve as harmless 
padding, to fill the spaces left blank by the censor's pen. 
Sometimes when the form is ready for the press, and no trouble 
is anticipated, unexpectedly there arrives an official sheet from 
the censor, without whose " imprimatur " nothing can be pub- 
lished, and the luckless editor sees, it may be, from a column 
to a whole page crossed out. One of the most frequent offend- 
ers used to fill the spaces with stars and daggers, or other 
printer's missiles, which when taken with the context would 
suggest to a shrewd reader what had been omitted. A law 
was then made that the spaces must be so filled as to give no 
hint of what had been left out. 

Not a great while ago an editorial acquaintance of our in- 
formant found that the pen of disapprobation had been drawn 
through a strictly scientific article upon the rainbow. In 
utter bewilderment he sought an interview with the censor and 
respectfully asked why this was condemned. He was told 
that an article upon the rainbow could not be allowed to ap- 
pear on account of a stringent order received at that office 
to permit the publication of no article connected in any way 
whatever with the subject of astronomy. 

In a recently published series of Scripture biographies, the 
statement that Ruth's connection with the family of Elimelech 



Constantinople. 563 

became in the order of Providence the means of liberating her 
from the heathen traditions of her ancestors " was at once de- 
tected and erased." The account of David playing the harp 
before King Saul, and the outburst of passion indulged in by 
the latter on that occasion, was also stricken out, making a 
serious break in the narrative. 

The most remarkable story that I heard in Constantinople 
about the censorship of the press was this, which was vouched 
for on convincing authority: A certain Christian banker or 
stockbroker of Constantinople, who spent some years in 
Paris, and understands French and has an unusual command of 
the Turkish language, occupied his leisure hours in trans- 
lating into Turkish a chapter from a French book giving 
the experiences of a detective in working up noted criminal 
cases. 

He had a few copies printed for circulation among friends. 
A few days after an officer appeared at the office of the author 
with a copy of this publication and asked if he were the 
writer. He admitted the fact, adding that he hoped he had 
done nothing wrong. The officer asked if there were any 
more of the story. The author replied, "Yes," that there 
was plenty more of the same material. "Very well," re- 
plied the officer, "I will call the day after to-morrow, and 
you will have ready for me in manuscript sufficient to make 
another pamphlet of the same size as this which you have 
printed." The frightened author protested that the time was 
too short, but the officer gave him a look which gave him 
clearly to understand that refusal meant danger, and nam- 
ing again the hour at which he would call for the work, took 
leave. 

The literary aspirant, bewildered and anxious, closed his 
office, went home, and in thirty-six hours of almost continu- 
ous labor accomplished the task assigned and returned to his 
office. At the appointed hour the mysterious visitor re- 
appeared and demanded the manuscript. With a trembling 
hand it was passed over to him. He glanced at it a moment, 
then saying, "Yes, that will do," took leave without offering 
any explanation. 

After two days he again appeared, and said: "See here, 



564 Travels in Three Continents. 

there is more of that story." The writer admitted that there 
was more. "Very well," was the reply; "the day after to- 
morrow, at the same hour as before, I will come again. Have 
ready the same amount of manuscript; " and waiting for no 
remonstrances the man was gone. Again the broker left 
business and going home applied himself bravely to the task, ■ 
secretly regretting that he had ever seen the book from which 
he was translating. The officer appeared at the appointed 
time, and receiving the roll of manuscript went away without 
remark. 

After two or three days, as the broker was busy in his office, 
another officer made his appearance, and after asking, "Are 
you Mr. So-and-so? " said: " You are wanted; you will come 
immediately with me." The broker turned pale, and began 
to beg off; but the officer said: " You have nothing to fear, 
but you must come immediately with me." The broker fol- 
lowed the officer to the street corner, where they entered a 
carriage which appeared to be waiting for them, and they 
were driven to the palace, received with honor by the guards, 
and shown through a side door to a private room. There the 
broker was left alone for some minutes, when a high official 
entered, bearing in his hand the two rolls of manuscript which 
had been prepared under such pressing orders. 

" Are these your writings? " 

" Yes, your excellency." 
How much more is there of that book? " 

'It is a large volume, your excellency." 

' Where is it? " 

At your servant's house, your excellency? " 
You will go along with my officer to your house and fetch 
that book here to me." 

The man accompanied by the officer went home, and in a 
short time returned bearing the French work from which 
the extracts had been made. He was asked to point out how 
far he had translated. 

"Very well," said the high official, in a quiet tone, "you 
will begin there. In the next room you will find an abundance 
of writing material; also a French-Turkish Dictionary. You 
will set to work immediately and complete the volume before 



Constantinople. 565 

leaving the place. There are servants in attendance who have 
orders tu supply all your wants. " 

"And so," said my informant, "at the time I received the 
information the lucky or unlucky fellow was still hard at work 
upon his great literary undertaking. No restrictions were 
placed upon his communications to his family, but no respite 
from work was allowed. His business, of course, was suffer- 
ing, but the possibilities of a brilliant literary career were 
opening before him." 

It is well known that in Turkey a hymnal for the use of 
Protestants was expurgated, and among other things the 
piece, "Hold the fort, for I am coming," was stricken out. 
On literary grounds few would be disposed to condemn the 
censor for that, but the reason he assigned was that it is 
adapted to stir up an insurrection. 

The story of the Arabian Nights'' Entertainments, except in 
its supernatural elements, has been paralleled over and over 
again in the history of Constantinople. One of the Sultans 
not so very long ago was in the habit of going about in dis- 
guise like the famous Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid. On one occa- 
sion, passing a place where a man was excavating a cesspool, 
he heard him say to himself in a loud voice: "Persevere, my 
soul, or I will plunge thee into deeper filth than this ! " 

A few hours afterward an officer approached the unfortunate 
man, and said to him: "Come with me." Horror took 
possession of the laborer, who, when found by the officer, was 
dressed like a gentleman, and was taking his ease in a cafe. 
He tried to ascertain why he was w 7 anted; for some went into 
the secret place under the control of the government, and 
never came out; but no satisfactory answer could be given. 
After being detained for a long time in fear and suspense, he 
was at last brought before a high official, and examined. 
Finally, he was taken into the presence of the Sultan, who was 
astonished to see the man, who had been covered with filth a 
short time before, so well dressed and intelligent in appear- 
ance. He said to him: "Are you the man whom I saw at 
work in a cesspool? " 

"I am." 

" How is it that I find you dressed in this way?" 



566 Travels in Three Continents. 

"I am well paid for my work, which is very filthy and dis- 
agreeable, and afterward I cleanse myself and take mine 
ease." 

"But what did you mean when you said: 'Persevere, my 
soul, or I will plunge thee into deeper filth than this?' " 

The man trembled, knowing that at a word his head might 
be smitten from his shoulders. 

" Speak! " said the Sultan. He answered that a man often 
says in anger what his heart will not acknowledge. 

" But what dost thou mean? " 

He hesitated, and the Sultan reiterated his command: 
" What dost thou mean? What deeper filth is there than that 
in which thou dost work? " 

He still hesitated. The Sultan assured him that no harm 
should come to him, and the man then replied : 

"My work is disagreeable, and I was almost tempted to 
leave it when I thought, 'I am still free;' I am obliged to 
flatter no one; if I give up this work I may be compelled to 
take service under the government, to live by flattery and false- 
hood, and so I said to my soul, ' Persevere, or I will plunge 
thee into deeper filth than this.' " 

The Sultan, according to the story, was so pleased with this 
answer that he gave him a handsome present and allowed him 
to go away unmolested. 



Flight to Paris and New York. 567 



CHAPTER LXVII. 

Flight through Eastern Roumelia, Bulgaria, Servia, Hun- 
gary, and Vienna, to Paris and New York. 

Adrianople — Philippopolis — Government of Eastern Roumelia — Convention 
of Protestant Mission Workers — Sofia — Bulgarian Church — Picturesque Cos- 
tumes — Buda-Pesth — The National Museum — Vienna — Emperor Franz 
Josef — Paris Exposition. 

Soon after leaving Constantinople we entered a charming 
country of undulating ridges, already covered with the vege- 
tation of early spring. Previous to the treaty of Berlin, East- 
ern Roumelia was under the direct authority of the Sultan of 
Turkey. Since that time it has been removed therefrom, and 
is a tributary principality, enjoying the right of self-govern- 
ment. It is formed of the old provinces of Slivno and Philip- 
popolis, with part of that of Adrianople, and occupies the 
upper basin of the Maritza River, which is navigable as far as 
Philippopolis. The view as we rode along was wonderfully 
beautiful. Villages and towns are far apart, and one might 
easily have fancied himself traveling through a succession 
of parks connected with some ancestral estate, his only per- 
plexity that he saw no house or castle, and few persons. 
Sheep and cattle were grazing, and we saw some fine horses. 

Adrianople, one hundred and thirty-seven miles to the north- 
west of Constantinople, was the first important city through 
which we passed; next to Constantinople its rank was the 
highest in European Turkey. For nearly a hundred years, and 
until they gained possession of Constantinople, the Turks 
made it the seat of government. 

Higher up, on both banks of the Maritza, is Philippopolis, 
now the capital. This region was part of ancient Thrace, and 
Philippopolis was founded by Philip, the father of Alexander 
the Great. Since 1360 the Turks have held it. Immense 
masses of granite surround and underlie the city; at the base 



568 Travels in Three Continents. 

of these eminences the country is perfectly level, and the 
ground so low that rice is cultivated there. The independent 
existence of Eastern Roumelia, now a self-legislating province, 
gives it much more interest to Western travelers than it 
would have if still a province of Turkey. It sustains its own 
army, makes its own laws, and has a Christian Governor Gen- 
eral, appointed indeed by the Sultan, with the consent of the 
European powers. Notwithstanding its independence, the 
Turkish government retains the right of occupying certain 
strategical positions for the defense of its empire. 

I had the good fortune to be at Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, 
during a convention of all the native workers in the Protestant 
missions for the whole region under the control of the American 
Board, and to meet Dr. Riggs, that venerable missionary whom 
Dr. Long assisted in translating the Bible into the Bulgarian 
tongue. The church, which would seat five or six hundred, 
was crowded with an enthusiastic audience, who were addressed 
by energetic, original, and thorough speakers, according to 
the testimony of the missionaries of the American Board. 

The Bulgarian Church is a very low form of Christianity. 
The principles of the Gospel are concealed under a mask of 
superstitions; no intelligible instruction is given; pomp, cere- 
mony, priestcraft, support the religion, which exerts little in- 
fluence over the daily lives of the people, and can afford little 
or no comfort in their experiences of privation and toil. 

Were it not for the palace, one or two elaborate hotels of 
an Eastern style, and the foreign names on the signs, it would 
be easy to mistake the place for an American prairie town 
already endeavoring to put on the airs of a city. In traveling 
through the country I was struck with its fertility, with the 
number of rivers which flow to the Danube, and with the herds 
of cattle and flocks of sheep. The general aspect, however, is 
not one of prosperity, and a primitive scene was that of buf- 
faloes drawing carts. Many of the Bulgarians are striking- 
looking men. 

After leaving Sofia we rode for hours in full view of the 
Balkans, and we traversed Servia, which is about as large as 
Switzerland, and lies between the western Balkan and the 
Illyrian Mountains. For many a long year these brave 




> ■ 



;Mimk 



OM 



Flight to Paris and New York. 571 

mountaineers fought for the right of self-government, and 
are worthy successors of the Servian monarchy which after 
the fourteenth century fell before the Turks. In 1829 it 
gained the right of self-government, but was nominally sub- 
ject to Constantinople until 1877, when its freedom was con- 
firmed by the Treaty of Berlin. 

Mountains, hills, and forests were interspersed with fields 
surrounded by hedges and meadows. Hogs are the most 
valuable product of the country. The landed nobles of 
Servia are great pig-dealers, and it may be said of much of 
the region, as it was of Cincinnati some years ago, that the 
aristocrats are those whose fathers packed pork for a living, 
and the democrats are those who pack it themselves. 

The people so hate the Turks that their best wine is called 
"Turks' Blood." A recent traveler says that whenever a 
bottle of it is opened the first who tastes it affects surprise and 
asks, "What is this?" A second, having tasted, replies, 
solemnly, "Turks' Blood." Whereupon the first rejoins, 
" Then let it flow freely." 

The villages are straggling; fifty or sixty houses "are 
spread over a space as large as that occupied by Vienna." 
We passed through the capital, Belgrade, situated at the union 
of the Danube and the Save, in the midst of grand scenery. 
The costumes of the men and women were picturesque. 
Towle's description in his little book, The Principalities of tJie 
Danube, is literally correct: " The men wear drab-colored short 
jackets lined with red, and caps and sashes of red, and their 
belts are provided with pistols and poniards. Their legs are 
covered with big trousers to the knee, below which point they 
fit close to the calves and ankles." The women affect bright 
colors; their dresses are trimmed with embroidery; wide 
sashes are worn with long fringed ends, and on their heads are 
red leather caps wrought in silver and gold lace; every woman 
wears gold earrings. 

Buda-Pesth, the capital of Hungary, is one of the handsomest 
cities in Europe. It lies on both sides of the Danube; and has 
a population of above four hundred thousand, being the second 
in numbers in the Austrian empire. Buda is upon the Dan- 
ube side of a range of hills, and above it is an imposing 



572 Travels in Three Continents. 

castle. Pesth is on the other side. The hills are covered 
with vineyards wherein grow the grapes which make the 
famous Tokay wine. The city is full of monuments and 
abounds in churches; among its beautiful features are the 
bridges which connect Buda with Pesth. Great use is made 
of Turkish baths, and also of hot mineral baths, some of 
which date from the time of the Romans. 

There are numerous art galleries in the city, which already 
considers itself a rival of Vienna, and in them I saw the finest 
collection of the Spanish masters outside of Spain. 

The National Museum contains many curiosities, among 
them a piano made by Broadwood and given to Beethoven; 
by him it was some years afterward given to Liszt, and by him 
to the museum. Striking a few chords I evoked sounds of 
peculiar sweetness, but of less depth and brilliancy of tone 
than is expected from the instruments of famous makers of 
the present day. 

One of the curiosities is Luther's will, which has been de- 
clared authentic by a committee of experts. 

Another was a note signed by Louis Kossuth, the style of 
which was imitated in the Confederate notes of a dozen years 
later. 

$100. No. A. Hungarian Fund. 

This will entitle the holder to One Hundred Dollars at the rate of four per 
cent per annum from this date, the principal payment in ten equal annual in- 
stallments from the date of the establishment in fact of the Independent 
Hungarian Government, and the interest thereon payable half-yearly from the 
last above date and at the National Treasury of such Government, or at 
either of its authorized agencies in London or New York. L. Kossuth. 

Dated at New York, July I, 1852. 

In the very year and month of the date of that note, with a 
crowd of other boys, I followed the Hungarian patriot about 
the streets of an American city, not fully understanding his 
aims, but perceiving, when he spoke, the peculiar pathos and 
power which made him so famous. 

I inquired of various officials in the museum and elsewhere 
as to his standing with the Hungarian people. He was consid- 
ered to be patriotic, courageous, disinterested, and eloquent, 
but visionary, and in his old age peevish and incapable of adapt- 



Flight to Paris and New York. 573 

ing himself to what has proved a satisfactory adjustment of the 
two peoples which now constitute the great empire of Austria- 
Hungary — two distinct kingdoms united under a common 
ruler of the German House of Hapsburg, and maintaining a 
common policy in military and diplomatic affairs. 

From Buda-Pesth we went direct to Vienna, where I had 
the pleasure of seeing the Emperor of Austria when he ap- 
peared for the first time in public after the horrible suicide of 
his son, the Archduke, to review the Austrian troops. For 
three hours I saw the flower of the Austrian infantry and 
cavalry perform its evolutions. 

The Emperor Franz Josef, with his staff, passed within a few 
feet, giving me the opportunity of looking upon his face. 
The traces of anxiety, disease, and sorrow were plainly visible. 
When we look upon kings on state occasions, we do not have 
a fair representation of their natural expression; for self-con- 
sciousness and an artificial gravity rob the eyes and the other 
features of their light and animation. Even American Presi- 
dents and their wives, with the limited amount of display in 
which they participate, show the effects of the situation, and 
either a stolid aspect or a meaningless smile takes the place of 
the changing lights and shadows which in ordinary social in- 
tercourse are perpetually charming. 

Having arranged to sail for New York on the tenth of May, 
on this occasion I made little stay in Vienna, but hastened to 
Paris, arriving on the day of the opening of the Exposition, in 
which we spent three days delightfully. 

With my face once more turned toward home the voyage 
seemed long, although La Champagne made a shorter trip than 
usual at the season; and after so many months of wandering 
I contentedly took my place once more with those who sing: 

" Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest; 
Home-keeping hearts are happiest." 



INDEX. 



Aaron, work of a grandson of, 439. 

Abana River, 480. 

Abbas, Dr., superintendent of the lunatic 

asylum of Egypt, 216-218. 
Abbas, Muley, lamentations of, 40. 
Abdallah, a performing negro, 301. 
Abd-el-Kader, courage of, 488 ; confinement 

in Damascus, 491. 
Abd-er-Rahman 1, builds mosque at Cordova, 

39- 
Abdul Aziz, vandalism of, 539 ; change of his 

name, 558. 

Abdul Hamid II, 558. 

Abel, traditional scene of the murder of, 480. 

Abinadab, the ark of the covenant in the 
house of, 350. 

Ablution, the fountain of, 543. 

Abou-Gosch, tomb of, 3S0 ; village of, 350. 

Abousir, a cemetery of Memphis, 247. 

Abraham, our dragoman, 257, 266, 268, 278 ; 
story of a crocodile, 270. 

Abraham, an obelisk older than, 219; God's 
covenant with, 241 ; the Koran's record 
of, 323 ; supposed scene of his attempted 
sacrifice of Isaac, 377, 390, 436 ; alleged 
praying-spot of, 381 ; supposed scene of 
sacrifices by, 381 ; at Bethel, 430 ; builds 
an altar at Shechem, 435 ; well-digging 
customs of, 435 ; scene of his encounter 
with Melchizedek, 436 ; at' Shechem, 438 ; 
Damascus in the time of, 480 ; rescues Lot 
from the kings, 489 ; scene of the revela- 
tion to, of the unity of God, 490. 

Absalom, tomb of, 362. 

Abuna, election of an, 421. 

Abundance, the horn of, 536. 

Abyla, 81, 109. 

Abyssinia, source of the Blue Nile in, 238; 
rainfall in, 239; trade with Asyoot, 263 ; 
■war with Italy, 421. 

Abyssinian Church, at Jerusalem, 420 ; pe- 
culiarities of, 420, 421. 

Abyssinians, the civilization of the, 420 ; de- 
clared a barbarous people, 421. 

Acacia-trees, in Egypt, 261, 266 ; source of 
gum-arabic, 263. 

Academy, the, Athens, 523. 

Academy of Science, at Athens, 522. 

Acoustics, of Spanish cathedrals, 35, 58. 

Acre, 442 ; Lynch's expedition from, 406. 

Aero-Corinth, 527, 528. 

Acropolis, of Athens, 515, 516, 520, 521, 528; 
of Corinth, 527, 528; of Smyrna, 505, 508. 

"Acts," account of the Ascension in, 369 ; 
record of St. Paul's travels, 498, 512. 513 ; 
an authority on Ephesus, 510; record of 
Paul's sermon, 521. 

Ada Dodge Memorial Hall, Beirut, 495. 

Adam, chapel and tomb of, 394 ; tradition of 
his restoration to life, 394. 

Adam and Eve in the Garden, 169. 

Adelaide, Queen, lays foundation of light- 
house at Gibraltar, in. 

Adirondacks, the, experiences in, compared 
with Palestine, 432 ; head waters of the 
Hudson in, 474. 



Adoration, the scene of the, 399. 

Adour, River, 9. 

Adrianople, 567. 

Adriatic, the, capture of coast of, by Venice, 
158 ; Queen of, 166 ; view of, from Campa- 
nile, Venice, 166 ; a glimpse of, 205. 

jEgaleos, Mount, 524. 

iEgean Sea_, the, 499 ; scenery of, 503. 

^Egina, a distant view of, 515, 528 ; rival of 
Corinth, 527. 

jEneid, composition of the, 192. 

/Eschylus, the works of, 520. 

vEsop, figure of, 23. 

/Etolia, distant view of, 528. 

Africa, Spain the twin sister of, 10 ; Saracen 
conquest of north, 55 ; the bull-ring un- 
known in, 77 ; first glimpses of, 81, 82 ; the 
eye of, 100; relations of Gibraltar to, 104; 
British area and population, 115 ; the Virgin 
Mary in, 126 ; bearded priests in, 129 ; 
fresco of, at Milan, 154 ; rainfall in Cen- 
tral, 239; curious belief about birds in, 
251 ; to Asia from, 338. 

"Afrique," the steamer, 119. 

Age, of Egyptian women, 299, 300. 

Agesilaus, king of Sparta, 509, 510. 

Agility, feats of strength and, 236, 329. 

Agora, the Great, 510. 

Agriculture, in Morocco, 97 ; importance of, 
146 ; effect of construction of Suez Canal 
on i 337 I taught in Palestine, 345. 

Ague, in Cyprus, 498. 

Ahab, the field wrested from Naboth by, 443. 

Ahhotpou, Queen, jewelry of, 321. 

Ahijah, residence of, 435. 

Ai, the Jewish capture of, 430. 

Ain-et-Tin, 471. 

Air, buying the, 557. 

Ais-saoui, religious ceremonies of, 125. 

Ajalon, the moon's stand in, 348, 349. 

Akra, dividing line between Jerusalem and 
Moriah and, 356. 

Aksa, the Mosque E1-, 381. 

Alabaster box of ointment, scene of the, 414. 

Alaka, the office of, 421. 

Alameda, the, 106, 107 ; fortifying, 115. 

Albanians, in Smyrna, 506; costume of, 528, 
529 ; at Robert College, 555. 

Alcazar, the, at Toledo, 34, 36 ; at Seville, 49. 

Alcibiades, 509. 

Alcohol, as a factor of insanity in Egypt, 
217. See also Drunkenness; Intemper- 
ance. 

Alcott botanical collection, Beirut, 495. 

Aleppo, captured by Saladin, 487. 

Alexander, Dr., bishop of Jerusalem, 421. 

Alexander, patriarch of Alexandria, dispute 
with Arius, 207. 

Alexander the Great, statue in Naples, 189 ; 
how regarded in the Koran, 323 ; captures 
Jerusalem, 355 ; importance of Beirut in 
time of, 492 ; sword presented to, 498 ; 
restoration of Smyrna by, 507 ; connection 
with history of Ephesus, 509 ; visit to Di- 
ogenes, 527 ; crossing of the Hellespont, 
532 ; the father of. 567. 



576 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Alexandria, 207-209 ; Napoleon's march on, 
206; decline and growth of, 207 ; the mak- 
ing of the Septuagint in, 207 ; position in 
intellectual growth and Christianity, 207 ; 
removal of Cleopatra's Needles to and from, 
208 ; suburbs of, 209 ; Sphinxes in, 248 ; 
Eutropius's journey to, 264; complexion of 
fellaheen near, 287 ; Presbyterian mission 
at, 332 ; rainfall in, 336 ; election of the 
hierarch of the Abyssinian Church at, 421 ; 
Apollos of, 512. 

Alfieri, tomb of, 170. 

Alfonso VI, grant to the Moors, 35. 

Alfonso VIII, founder of convent of Las 
Huelgas, 14. 

Alfonso X, decree regarding the Spanish 
language, 34. 

Alfonso XII, sepulcher of, 34. 

Algeciras, landing of Taric at, 55, 81 ; view 
of, from Gibraltar, 112. 

Algeria, 1 19-136; F'rench conquest of, 128, 
133 ; power of Jews in, 129. See also Al- 
giers. 

Algerine pirates, 127 ; wealth of, 350. 

Algiers, beauty of journey from Oran to, 120, 
121; winter residences in, 121, 129, 130; 
archbishop of, 126 ; blackmails the whole 
civilized world, 127 ; the Dey of, 127, 128 ; 
slavery abolished in, 128 ; bloodthirstiness 
in, 129 ; likeness of houses to those in Pom- 
peii, 197, 198 ; flora, 346 ; mosques, 540. 

Algum-trees, Solomon's purchase of, 342. 

Alhambra, situation, history, and description, 
50-57 ; compared with the Kremlin, 51 ; 
woman's position in, 55 ; aspect of, 58 ; con- 
trast in the, 539 ; resemblance to the Ser- 
aglio, 539- 

" Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, 440. 

Aliweein line of descent from Mohammed, 
98. 

Allah, the magic name of, 326. 

Allemand-Lavigerie, Cardinal C. M., indul- 
gences granted by, 126. 

Alligators, in Florida and Louisiana, 273. 

Almond culture, 120. 

Alp Arslan, rise of, 559. 

Alphonso, sepulcher of, 14. 

Alpine Club of France, 128. 

Alps, the, view from Nice, 139 ; cold winds 
from, 146 ; view of, from Milan cathe- 
dral, 153; the Simplon route over, 157; 
view of, from Campanile, Venice, 166 ; Lib- 
yan Mountains compared with, 293 ; Mount 
of Olives compared with, 366 ; prominence 
of Mont Blanc among, 449. 

Alva, Luke of, 9. 

Amazons, paintings of, in Florence, 171. 

Ambition, the play of human, 557. 

Ambrose, St., painting of, 150; tomb of, e54. 

Ameni-Amenemha, tomb of, 252. 

Amenophis I, extends boundaries of Egypt, 
276 ; builds temple at Karnak, 276 ; coffin 
and mummy of, 320. 

Amenophis III, invades the Soudan, 276; 
growth of Thebes under, 276 ; statues of, 



Amer, tomb and mosque of, 214. 

America, the mother of, 10; Columbus's dis- 
covery, 45 ; antiquities, 45 ; discovery pre- 
dicted in the Scriptures, 46 ; Spanish pos- 
sessions, no; fresco of, at Milan, 154; 
greatness, 450. 

American, privileges of an, 18. 



American Board of Foreign Missions, the 
treasurer of, 11 ; schools at San Sebastian, 
12 ; agent in Constantinople, 265 ; success 
among Armenians, 549 ; Dr. Hamlin's rela- 
tions with, 554 ; convention of missions 
under, at Sofia, 568. 

American coats of arms, 172. 

American College at Beirut, 343. 

American colony, an eccentric, 425. 

American energy, evidences of, 557. 

American Mission, established in Syria, 495. 

Americans, bad example of, in Spain, 79, 80 ; 
walking-powers, in ; in Smyrna, 506; at 
Robert College, 554. 

American school, Athens, 522. 

Amherst College, our fellow-traveler from, 265. 

"Among the Hills," 467. 

Amorites, the conquest by Joshua, 348, 349 ; 
Jacob's conquest of, 435. 

Amwas, supposed site of Emmaus, 349. 

Ananias, his visit to Saul of Tarsus, 488. 

Anchorites, in the Holy Land, 413. 

Ancona, 202. 

Andalusia, the Tarshish of Scripture, 108. 

Androsphinx, the, 232. 

Angelo, Michael, statue at Milan, 154. 

Angel of Death, in Morocco, 99. 

Angel of Rome, the, 186. 

Angel's Chapel, the, 393. 

Angels, house-moving, 203, 454; Mohamme- 
dan belief in, 323 ; the Bethel ladder of, 430. 

Animal-life on the Dead Sea, 409. 

Animals, cruelty to, in Spain, 74-80 ; of Gi- 
braltar, 108 ; wild, in Atlas Mountains, 133. 

Anklets, ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Anna, mother of the Virgin, 366. See also 
St. Anne. 

Annunciation, the. Chapel and Church of, at 
Nazareth, 454, 455. 

Anointment, the Stone of, 390. 

Anthony, St., Murillo's painting of, 46. 

Anti-Libanus range, the, 483. 

Anti-matrimony colony in Jerusalem, 425. 

Anti-medicine theory, in Jerusalem, 425. 

Antiquarians, services of, 511. 

Antiquities, a judge of, 278 ; demand for, in 
Egypt, 278 ; a collection of Egyptian, 300 ; 
a United States consul's trade in, 300 ; fame 
of Smyrna for, 509 ; the manufacture of, 
516; in Athens, 522. 

"Antiquity Smith," 278. 

Antonio, Castle of, Jerusalem, 385. 

Antony, Mark, 177. 

Antony and Cleopatra, Samian residence of, 
503. See also Cleopatra. 

Apelles, birthplace of, 500, 509 ; figure of, in 
Florence cathedral, 170. 

Apennines, the, view of, from Milan cathe- 
dral, 153 ; situation of Florence near, 16S. 

Apes, of the Atlas Mountains, 134 ; Kaby- 
lean theory regarding, 134. 

Apis Mausoleum, discovery of the, 232. 

Apollo, myth concerning the formation of 
Rhodes by, 500 ; alleged birthplace of, 509 ; 
worship of, in Corinth. 52S ; statue at Con- 
stantinople, 560 ; tripod of the priest of, at 
Delphi, 560. 

Apollos, at Ephesus, 512. 

Apostles' Cavern, the, 361. 

Apparition, Chapel of the, 394. 

Appian Way, the, 181. 

Apples, American, 107 ; at Jaffa, 344. 

Apricots, at Jaffa, 344. 

Aquarium, the Naples, 190. 



Index. 



577 



Aqueducts, at Cairo, 214 ; ancient, 'n Jerusa- 
lem, 362; at Athens, 516. 

Aquila, at Ephesus, 512. 

Arabia, commerce of, through Alexandria, 
207 • trade with Asyoot, 263 ; horses of, 

483- 

Arabian desert, the, 238, 302. 

Arabian Empire, Western Caliphate of, 39. 

Arabian Mountains, 275, 276, 287, 294. 

Arabian Nights' Entertainments, 440, 565, 
566. 

Arabic Antiquities, Museum of, Cairo, 216. 

Arabic language, use among the Copts, 332. 

Arabs, conquest of Cordova, 39 ; flight from 
Seville, 43 ; characteristics, 92 ; how they 
make coffee, 92 ; destroy iron-mines at 
Nemours, 119; of Algeria, 120; importance 
of the beard among, 129 ; of Numidia, 133 ; 
hostility to Kabyles, 133 ; costume, 212 ; 
appreciation of manuscripts, 216; use of 
hasheesh, 21S ; mercenary character, 222; 
Connecticut Yankee versus, 278 ; compared 
with Nubians, 312 ; conquest of Egypt, 330 ; 
compared with Copts, 331, 332 ; claim the 
site of the house of Simon the tanner, 343 ; 
statements concerning the Tower of Ram- 
leh, 347; capture of Jerusalem, 355; ma- 
rauding, in the plain of Esdraelon, 442 ; 
opinion of Damascus, 4S3 ; outrages in 
Damascus, 488 ; attack Constantinople, 
536. 

Aragon, spread of kingdom of, 55. 

Aral Sea, relative saltness of the, 409. 

Ararat, Mount, 549. 

Arcadia, 205. 

Arcadian mountains, the, 52S. 

Archaeological Society, Museum of, at 
Athens, 522. 

Archaeologists, 249, 511. 

Architect, fate of a Christian, 122. 

Architects, skill of Egyptian, 288. 

Architecture, characteristics of Moorish, 51 ; 
a confusion of, 162 ; influence of Florence 
on, 167; effect of climate on, 190; Italy's 
eminence in, 202 ; Mohammedan, 213 ; the 
most ancient monument of Christian, 399 ; 
renown of Ephesus for, 509 ; Doric, 520 ; 
Ionic, 520 ; of ancient Greece and Rome, 
530 ; of Constantinople, 537 ; reasons for 
the peculiarity of Egyptian, 538 ; a mar- 
velous achievement of, 543 ; a beautiful 
specimen of mosque, 550. 

"Architecture," quoted, 543. 

Arch of Hadrian, 519. 

Arch of Pilate, the, 385. 

Arcon, J. C. E. Ie M. d', inventor of floating 
batteries at Gibraltar, no. 

Arctic Circle, beyond the, 314, §50. 

Arctic Ocean, the, 113. 

Areopagus, 521, 522. 

Aretas, 488. 

Argolis, the mountains of, 528. 

Argos, plain of, 528. 

Arimathea, legend regarding Joseph of, 144 ; 
supposed site of, 347. 

Aristides, the city of, 523. 

Aristocracy of nobles and beggars, 10 ; of 
beggars, 43 ; what constitutes an, 571. 

Aristophanes, the works of, 520. 

Aristotle, geographical knowledge of, 45 ; 
figure of, in Florence cathedral, 170 ; the 
city of, 523. 

Arius, dispute with Alexander, 207. 

Ark of bulrushes, the, 241. 



Ark of the Covenant, the Philistines' return 
of the, 350 ; supposed burial-place, 381 ; 
site of the tent of, 417 ; dwelling-place at 
Shiloh, 434 ; stolen by Philistines, 435. 

Arlanzon, Kiver, 13. 

Armageddon, the valley of, 442. 

Armenia, Saracen conquest of, 55 ; the Kisil- 
Bash of, 559. 

Armenian chapel at the Holy Sepulcher, 390. 

Armenian Church, miracles in, 8 ; worship 
in the Angel's Chapel, 394 ; worship in the 
Chapel of the Sepulcher, 394; convent at 
Bethlehem, 398 ; patriarchs, 417, 419; mon- 
astery in Jerusalem, 419, 420 ; services, 420 ; 
ritual of the/549; qualifications of priests, 
549, 550; jealousy of Protestantism, 555. 

Armenians, in Smyrna, 506, 507 ; commercial 
shrewdness of, 529, 549 ; in Constantinople, 
547, 549 ; success of American Board 
among, 549 ; at Robert College, 555. 

Arno River, 168, 275. 

Arnott, Miss, mission work at Jaffa, 343, 344. 

Arrows, poisoned, 305. 

Art, the foundation of, 146; in Milan, 149; in 
Florence, 167; intoxicated with, 171; facil- 
ities for study in Florence, 173 ; in the 
Catacombs, i8r, 182 ; position of Naples 
in, 187, 191 ; Italian love for, 200; rise and 
decay of Egyptian, 322 ; in Greece, 531 ; 
collection of Spanish masters, 572. 

Art-criiicism, difficulties of, 45. 

Artemisia, 509. 

Art-galleries, in Buda-Pesth, 572. 

Art of putting things, the, 208. 

Ascension, supposed site of the, 369 ; Church 
of the, 369. 

Ascension Day, observance at Venice, 158. 

Asenath, wife of Joseph, 219. 

Ashdod, view of, from the Tower of Ramleh, 

347- 

Ashkenazim, the sect of the, 465. 

Ashraf, the class, 94. 

Asia, Spain the offspring of, 10 ; rise of Mo- 
hammedan power in, 55 ; British area and 
populat'on, 115; fresco of, at Milan, 154; 
campaigns of Sethi I in western, 280 ; the 
glory of Egypt in, 319 ; from Africa to, 
338 ; the most wearisome day's journey in, 
479 ; a temporary farewell to the mainland 
of, 497 ; farewell to, 515 ; castle of, 532 ; 
boundary between Europe and, 535 ; origin 
of the Turks in. 559 ; the Sweet Waters of, 

-I 61 - 

Asia Minor, Saracen ravages in, 55 ; a famous 

city of, 501 ; descendants of ancient inhab- 
itants of, 506 ; the most important city of, 
509 ; power of Alp Arslan in, 559. 

Asioot, Asiut. See Asyoot. 

Askalon, view of, from Tower of Ramleh, 

347- 

Ass, a wonderful. 202. 

" Assassin," origin of the word. 218. 

Assouan, statue of Rameses II brought to 
the Rameseum from, 287 ; the hewing of 
obelisks at, 302 ; approach to, 304 ; Biblical 
mention of, 304 ; population, trade, etc., 304, 
305; English garrison, 305 ; traces of Chris- 
tian convents at, 305 ; beautiful palm- 
tree, 313, 314 ; Presbyterian mission, 332. 

Assyrians, at Robert College, 555. 

Astronomy, in Egypt, 207, 240 ; how viewed 
in Turkey, 562. 

Asturias, kingdom of, 55. 

Asylum of the Muses and Graces, 507. 



578 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Asyoot, 259-265; the pottery of, 263; revisited, 
318 ; Presbyterian mission, 332 ; Protestant 
school, 333. 
Atalye, 9. 
Athanasius, St., painting of, 188 ; life and 

death at Alexandria, 207. 
Atheism, in Constantinople, 555. 
Athenians, the place of meeting of the, 522; 

strife for Byzantium, 536. 
Athens, the Pyramids older than, 228; 
residence of Dr. Schliemann at, 334 ; dif- 
ference between Jerusalem and, 355; posses- 
sion of Samos by, 503 ; population con- 
trasted with that of Smyrna, 506 ; Ephesus 
compared with, 509; voyage to, 515; rail- 
way from the Piraeus to, 515 ; first view of, 
515, 516; growth, 516; hotels, 516; the 
seat of government at, 516 ; the modern 
city, 516; population, 516 ; mission at, 519; 
religious services at, 519 ; two cities of, 519 ; 
expulsion of Paul from, 521; Paul in, 521. 
522 ; public institutions, 522 ; route to 
Corinth from, 524; distant view of, 528 ; con- 
tributions to Santa Sophia, 540. 

Athletes, sufferings of, on the Nile, 335. 

Athos, Mount, 531, 532. 

Atlas Mountains, independent tribes of, 94, 
97 ; situation, scenery, etc., 120, 130-136 ; 
compared with those of Switzerland, 134 ; 
wild animals in, 135. 

At-Meidan, the scene of the massacre of the 
Janizaries, 558. 

Atmosphere, preservative action of a dry, 231. 

Attar of roses, trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

Attica, 524. 

Attic Peninsula, a distant view of the, 528. 

Attic Plain, the, 515, 524. 

Auctioneers, in Cairo, 211. 

Augustus, the Magnificent, 177 ; statue of, 
177; liking for Naples, 187; Vesuvius in 
the time of, 195 ; his name in the Temple of 
Denderah,269 ; contribution to the Temple 
of Isis, 309 ; temple of, at Banias, 475 ; 
connection with history of Ephesus, 509 ; 
restoration of the Temple of Diana, 511. 

Australasia, British area and population, 115. 

Australia, leprosy in, 426. 

Austria, claim on throne of Spain, no ; Em- 
peror of, in Cairo, 215 ; interest in Suez 
Canal, 336 ; the Emperor in Vienna, 573. 

Austria-Hungary, constitution of, 573. 

Austrians, at Robert College, 555. 

Autos-da-fe, the, 20; painting of an, 23. 

Autographs, a large collection of, 300. 

Aventine Hill, 177. 

Avenue of Sphinxes, 279, 280, 319. 

Avon, Rogers on the, 503. 

Ayasoolook, 509. 

Azov, Sea of, relative freshness of, 409. 

Baal, the worship of, 474. 

Baalbec, 492 ; contributions to Santa Sophia, 

540. 
Baal-Gad, 474. 
Baal-Hermon, 474. 
Babe, the village of the, 548. 
Babel, a modern, 504, 506, 547. 
Babel Moolook, 288-292. 
Bab-el-Oued, 128. 
Babi Humaioom, the, 540. 
Bab-kisan, 488. 
Bacchus, ancient temple of, at Milan, 154 ; 

paintings of. in Florence, 171 ; the theater 

of, 520, 



Backbiting, in Jerusalem, 422. 
" Backsheesh ! " 222, 227, 236, 237, 256, 257. 
Baedeker's guide-books, 324 ; on the Bible as 
a historyof Palestine, 341 ; on Mohamme- 
dan fatalism, 484. 
Bagdad, splendors of, 39, 55 ; Indian com- 
merce through, 158 ; rise of Turkish power 
in, 559. 
Bagdadites, Riwak of the, 325. 
Bainbridge, Captain, action in Algiers, 128. 
Baldness, sedentary habits and, 165. 
Balkan mountains, the, 568. 
Balm of Gilead, presented by Queen of Shela 

to Solomon, 219. 
Baltic Sea, General Grant on the, 236; lela- 

tive freshness of, 409. 
Bancroft, Dr. C. F. P., joins the party at 
Naples, 205 ; our fellow-traveler, 318, 334 ; 
his horse, 395 ; washes his feet in the Dead 
Sea, 409 ; visits the Patriarch of Jerusalem. 
419 ; visits Abyssinian monastery at Jeru- 
salem, 420; on the march, 429 ; discussion 
with, concerning age of Arab youth, 444, 
445 ; a valuable neighbor, 516 ; holds ser- 
vice on Mars' Hill, 521. 
Banias, road from Ain-et-Tin to, 471 ; ruins 
at, 473 ; ruins of temple of Pan near, 473 ; 
antiquity, 473 ; camp at, 473 ; vicissitudes 
of, 474 ; Titus's celebration of his victories 
at, 474; Joshua's connection with the region, 
474 ; importance during the Crusades, 474 ; 
Biblical references to, 475 ; supposed scene 
of the Transfiguration, 475, 476 ; Josephus's 
work at, 476 ; in time of Joshua, 476. 
Baptists, in Italy, 204. 
Barabras, in Assouan, 305. 
Barada River, the, 491. 

Barak, the plain of Esdraelon in the time of, 
442; scene of battle with Sisera, 445, 446, 449. 
Barbary, the beef-supply of Gibraltar, 107. 
Barbary apes, 108. 

Barbets, in Egypt, 210 ; of Damascus, 484. 
Barca, the, of Venice, 161. 
Barcelona, theater in, 74 ; bull-ring, 74. 
Barclay, Bishop, discovers Jacob's Well, 435. 
Barnabas, in Cyprus, 498. 
Bartholomew, St., statue of, 150. 
Bartolommeo, Fra, portrait of Savonarola, 170. 
Baseball at the Pyramids, 228. 
Bashan, oaks of, 449. 
Basque Provinces, 10. 
Basques, originate the bayonet, 9; the ancient 

race of, 12 ; a game of the, 12. 
Bas-reliefs, at Karnak, 28o._ 
Bassano, paintings at Madrid, 23. 
Baths, at Pompeii, 198 ; hot, at Tiberias, 461 ; 

in Buda-Pesth, 572. 
Battering-rani6, used against Stamboul, 539. 
Baudin, Alphonse, shooting of, 2, 138. 
Bavar, Rodrigo Ruy Diaz de, 14. 
Bayonet, origin of the, 9. 
Bayonne, 9. 
Bazaars, of Asyoot, 263 ; of Constantinople, 

561 ; of Damascus, 483 ; at Keneh, 266. 
Bazaine, Marshal, surrender, imprisonment, 

and escape of, 139. 
Beads, use of, in Greece, 529, 530. 
Bear Camp River, the Jordan likened to, 467. 
Beard, importance among Arabs, 129. 
Bears, scene of the tearing of children by, 430. 
Beatitudes, the Mount of, 461. 
Beautiful Gate of the Temple, the, 374. 
Beauty, an ancient mold of, 235 ; the 
Egyptian Goddess of, 267. 



579 



Bebek, village of, 554. 

Bedouin, a venerable, 400. 

Bedouin escorts, necessity of employing, 400. 

Bedouins, of Numidia, 133 ; at Cairo, 222 ; at 
the Pyramids, 225, 227, 236 ; fame of Mark 
Twain among, 236, 237 ; expulsion from the 
plain of Esdraelon, 442; a camp of, 443 ; ma- 
rauding tribes on the Seaof Galilee, 468; ag- 
ricultural, 471; a tribe of the better sort, 472. 

Bee-culture at Sulem, 443, 444. 

Beeroth, 430. 

Beethoven, an old piano of, 572. 

Beetle, the, in Egypt, 322. 

Beetles, sacred, 278. 

Beggars, at Lourdes, 7 ; an aristocracy of, 10, 
43 ; in Spain, 33, 43, 44, 61, 62, 65, 67-69, 
71; politeness of, 67; in Morocco, go; in 
Egypt, 2ii, 222, 251, 256, 257, 282, 283, 434 ; 
in Jerusalem, 418, 426 ; at Sinjil, 434 ; in 
Nazareth, 457 ; in Cana, 458. 

Beirut, the harbor of, 341 ; American College 
at, 343 ; the Protestant College of, 466 ; 
journey from Damascus 10,491,492; his- 
tory and missions, 492-496 ; dialects at, 554. 

Belgrade, 571. 

Belzoni, on the ruins of Thebes, 275. 

Belzoni's tomb, 291. 

Benhadad, attempts to capture Elisha at 
Dothan, 441 ; subdues the Danites, 472. 

Beni-Hassan, a tribe of thieves, 97. 

Beni-Hassan, tombs of, 252-255 ; the evil vil- 
lage of, 256. 

Benjamin, the city of, 350; boundary line 
between Judah and, 361 ; supposed location 
of Rachel's tomb in the borders of, 397 ; 
partial annihilation of the tribe, 429. 

Berbers, in Tangier, 89; in Numidia, 133. 

Berea, Paul's journey to Athens from, 521. 

Bergamo, conquered by Venice, 158. 

Berlin, the Treaty of, 567. 

Bern, scenery of, 8. 

Bernadotte, birthplace of, 8. 

Bernardino, and the playing-card maker, 172. 

Bernese Oberland, the, 8. 

Bestiality, Pompeii and American cities com- 
pared, 198. 

Bethany, distance from the Mount of Olives, 
369 ; the Ascension from, 369 ; road from 
Jerusalem to, 374; traditional scene of the 
parable of the Good Samaritan, 414; house 
of Simon the Leper at, 414. 

Betharram, miracles at, 7. 

Bethel, former capital of the Jews, 355; 
Rachel's journey to Bethlehem from, 397 ; 
the village, 430. 

Bethlehem, the music of, 63, 64 ; road from 
Jerusalem to, 396; compared with Jerusa- 
lem, 397 ; situation, 397 ; manufactures, 
397 ; Rachel's journey from Bethel to, 397 ; 
Samuel's mission to, 397, 398 ; scene of the 
Nativity, 398 ; Constantine erects a church 
at, 398 ; the pilgrimage of St. Jerome to, 
339; life, works, and death of Paula in, 
399 ; farewell view of, 400, 429 ; visit of 
Joseph and Mary to, 452 ; devotion of pil- 
grims to, 452. 

Bethsaida, site of, 468. 

Bethsaidas, the two, 467. 

Betin ; 430. 

Biarritz, 9. 

Bible, the, discovery of America predicted in, 
46 ; mention of Assouan in, 304 ; descrip- 
tion of Hebrew women's costume, 320, 321 ; 
revered among the Copts, 331 ; Baedeker's 

30 



opinion of it, as a history of Palestine, 341 ; 
on the situation of Jerusalem, 352 ; describes 
the captures of Jerusalem, 355 ; modern 
Jerusalem not the city of, 356 ; St. Jerome's 
translation of, 399 ; vividness and simplicity 
of its narrative of the Witch of Endor, 446 ; 
its qualities, 457 ; its graphic descriptions, 
471 ; Dr. Van Dyke's Arabic translation, 
495 ; a romantic statement from, 498; trans- 
lated into Bulgarian, 568. See also New 
Testament; Old Testament. 

Bible House in Constantinople, 265, 556, 557. 

Biblioteca Colombina, 45, 46. 

Bidassoa, River, 10. 

Bigotry, of Jews of Tiberias, 466; Turkish, 560. 

Bird, Mountain of the, 251. 

Birds, curious belief on the Nile about, 251 ; 
taming of, at Mar Saba, 404; in the Dead 
Sea region, 409. 

Biscay, Bay of, the, 9, n ; perils of, 12 ; 
abandonment of the "Cleopatra" in, 208. 

Bisharees, in Assouan, 305. 

Bishops, sale of photographs of, 439. 

Bitter Lakes, the, 337. 

Black Sea, the, linked to Sea of Marmora, 
535 ; trip to, 548 ; dangers at its junction 
with the Bosporus, 548 ; glimpses of, 556. 

" Blackwood's Magazine," quoted, 97. 

Blessing, the Mount of, 436. 

Blessings, how obtained at Lourdes, 7. 

Blidah, 130. 

Blind, the Chapel of the, Cairo, 326; Christ 
healing the, 361. 

Blindness, prevalence in southern Spain, 62 ; 
in Morocco, 90 ; influence on facial expres- 
sion, 189 ; in Egypt, 264, 265 ; leprous, 426. 

Bliss, Dr. Daniel, 492, 557. 

Bliss, Dr. Isaac G., life and death of, 265. 

Blizzard, in Palestine, 429. 

Blizzard of sand, a, 335. 

Blondin, a rival 0^236. 

Blood, the Field of, supposed site of, 361. 

Bloody Village, the, 548. 

Blue Nile, 238. 

Blythe, Dr., bishop of Jerusalem, 421. 

Boat, a golden, 321. 

Boccaccio, influence on the Italian language, 
167 ; scenes of the Decameron, 171 ; the 
tales of, 191. 

Bceotia, distant view of, 528. 

Bombay, saving in distance from various 
ports to, via Suez Canal, 338. 

Bon, Cape, 120. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon. See Napoleon I. 

Bones, fantastic exhibition of human, 182 ; 
peddling, 182. 

Bonnets, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Bon-Zarea, Mount, 126, 128. 

Boolak Museum, the, 319-322. 

Booth, John Wilkes, favorite lines of, 512. 

Bordeaux, arrival at, 2 ; its wines, 2 ; Frank- 
lin in, 2 ; shipping in, 3. 

Borromeo, San Carlo, relics of, 150. 

Bosporus, the, 535, 536, 539, 554; formation 
of, 547 ; steamers on, 547 ; dangers at its 
junction with the Black Sea, 548 ; nomen- 
clature of the villages on, 548 ; Byron on,. 
548 ; a splendid prospect of, 556. 

Botany, Alcott collection at Beirut, 495. 

Bottles, manufacture of porous, 266. 

Boulanger, General, 2. 

Boulogne, 1. 

Boundary-stones, in Palestine, 345. 

Bow, the Oriental, 243, 326. 



5 8o 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Bracelets, ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Brambles, at Shechem, 436. 

Brasswork, Arab, 216. 

Bread, who kneads the best, 258. 

Bread-making, in Egypt, 292. 

Brescia, conquered by Venice, 158. 

Bribery, in Spain, 69, 70 ; in Morocco, 98 ; of 
Turkish guards, 474. 

Bridge of Sighs, the, 165, 

" Bright-faced lady, Our," 343. 

Brindisi, 205. 

British Channel, 1. 

British Museum, the, a noble institution, 209 j 
fragments of the Sphinx in, 232 ; sarcophagi 
in, 236 ; statue of Rameses II presented to, 
244 ; mummies of jackals in, 263 ; collec- 
tion of historical papyri in, 319; a treasure 
in store for, 440 ; the Elgin Marbles in, 521. 

Broadwood, a famous piano by, 572. 

Bronzes, ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Brougham, Lord, liking for Cannes, 138, 139. 

Bruce's tomb, 292. 

Brugsch Bey, on the antiquity of Thebes, 
276 ; chronology of Menes, 322. 

Brunelleschi, Philip, architect of Florence 
cathedral, 169 ; monument, 169 ; work, 170. 

Brutus, Marcus Junius, 177 ; statue of, in 
Naples, 189. 

Buckle, Henry, death and burial, and monu- 
ment to, in Damascus, 489. 

Buckley, Rev. J. M., preaches on Mars' Hill, 
521. 

Buda-Pesth, 571-573 ; population, 571 ; the 
National Museum at, 572. 

Buffaloes, use of, in Egypt, 250, 274 ; at Lake 
Huleh, 472 ; in Bulgaria, 568. 

Buffalo milk, 250. 

Bulgaria, the capital of, 568 ; superstition in, 
568. _ 

Bulgarian, the Bible translated into, 568. 

Bulgarian Church, the, 568. 

Bulgarians, in Constantinople, 538, 547 ; at 
Robert College, 554 ; appearance, 568. 

Bull, fights with an elephant, a lion, and a 
tiger, 78. 

Bullfights, Charles I at, 20 ; in Spain, 74-80 ; 
attitude of the Church toward, 80. 

Bullfighters, a paradise of, 43. 

Bull-ring, at San Sebastian, 11. 

Bulls, Tomb of the, 319. 

Bulrushes, the ark of, 241. 

Bulwer, E. G., fondness for Naples, 187. 

Burckhardt, J. L., on the bust of Homer in 
the National Museum, Naples, 189. 

Burgos, the road to, 13; antiquity of, 13; 
cathedral, 15-18; castle, 18; climate, 43. 

Burke, Edmund, on Gibraltar, 114, 115. 

Burning bush, Moses at the, 331. 

Burnt Column, the, 560. 

Byron, Lord, on Seville, 49 ; on the Bridge 
of Sighs, 165 ; quoted, 462 ; scene of his feat 
on the Hellespont, 532 ; on the view from 
the Giant's Mountain, 548. 

Byzantine art, a marvelous creation of, 543. 

Byzantine Empire, division of the, 158. 

Byzantines, occupation of Naples, 191. 

Byzantium, the ancient port of, 535 ; strife 
for, 536 ; besieged by Philip of Macedon, 
536 ; a rival of, 537. 

" Caballero," use of the title, 68. 
Cabanerro, Spanish artist, 62, 63. 
Cabrita Point, m. 
Cactus hedges, in Palestine, 345, 347, 453, 



Caelian Hill, 177. 

Caesar, Julius, conquest of Seville, 43 ; paint- 
ings of, in Florence, 171 ; assassination of, 
177; alterations in the Forum, 181 ; father 
of Caesarion, 269 ; a delayed project of the 
time of, 524 ; re-establishes Corinth, 527. 

Caesarea, 345 ; Paul's journey to Jerusalem 
from, 498. 

Caesarea Philippi, foundation of, 473; inci- 
dents in the life of Christ at, 475, 476; 
height of Hermon above, 476 ; claim of, 
as scene of the Transfiguration, 476. 

Caesarion, son of Cleopatra, 269. 

Caiaphas, the palace of, 417. 

Cain, scene of the murder of Abel by, 480. 

Cairo, 209-219, 221, 222, 229 ; splendors of. ?e ; 
proposed railroad to Suez from, 209 ; beg- 
gars in, 211 ; the citadel, 212, 222 ; mosques, 
213 ; extraordinary union of races and 
sects in, 214 ; miraculous transportation of 
column from Mecca to, 214; road to the 
Pyramids from, 221 ; Egyptological collec- 
tions, 229; discovery of Sphinxes at, 248; 
trade with Asyoot, 263 ; residence of the 
U. S. Consul-General, 299; return to, 318; 
the chief physician in, 318; preparations 
for an indefinite stay in. 318; studies in, 
319 et seq. ; University of, J25, 326; howl- 
ing dervishes, 326-330 ; Presbyterian mis- 
sion, 332 ; social intercourse, 334 ; famous 
Americans in, 335 ; a sandstorm in, 335 ; 
departure from, 335 ; Ferdinand de Lesseps 
French consul at, 336 ; rainfall in, 336 ; lik- 
ened to Damascus, 483 ; Mr. McF"adden's 
sickness in, 492 ; use of donkeys in, 505. 

Calcedonia, 537. 

Calendar, in Spain, 68. 

Calendar of epochs, Mohammed's, 381. 

California, Horace Greeley's famous ride in, 
236 ; irrigation in, 24c; fruits and vegetables 
of, 344 ; leprosy in, 427. 

Caligula, the Vindictive, 177 ; his name in 
the Temple of Denderah, 26g. 

Calpe, 109. 

Calvary, chapel on the site of, 394. 

Calvin, John, persecution of, 8. 

Cambia, Arnolfo del, designer of Florence 
cathedral, 169. 

Cambyses, sieges of Karnak by, 282 ; battles 
of, in Egypt, 288 ; breaks the statue of 
Memnon, 297. 

Camel, the growl of a, 262, 274 ; anecdote, 560. 

Camels, use of, in Egypt, 209-211, 222, 225, 
231, 244, 262, 278, 304 ; the discomforts of 
riding, 304 ; in Jaffa, 342, 343 ; a caravan of, 
432 ; variety among, 432 ; the instruments 
of a miracle, 465 ; employed in transporting 
the remains of the Colossus of Rhodes, 500; 
use of, in Turkey, 547. 

Campanile of Venice, the, 166. 

Campbell's Tomb, 236. 

Campo Santo, Genoa, 145. 

Campos de la Mancha, the, 36. 

Canaan, a synoptical table of, 282 ; Joshua's 
partition of, 342, 434. 

Canaanites, successful opposition to Ephraim, 
348 ; former owners of Shechem, 438. 

Canada, represented on Mars' Hill, 52T. 

Cana-El-Jaeliel, supposed site of Cana of 
Galilee, 458. 

Canals, of Venice, 161 ; irrigating, 221, 226, 
240 ; old Egyptian, 336 ; across the Isthmus 
of Corinth, 524 ; the Suez and Corinthian 
compared, 524. 



INDEX. 



58l 



Cana of Galilee, 458, 459. 

Candia, conquest of, by Venice, 162 ; in sight 

of, 206. 
" Candlestick " of Smyrna, the, 508. 
Cannabis Indica, smoking, 93. 
Cannes, 138 ; imprisonment of Eazaine at, 

J 39- 

Canning factories, experience in, 258. 

Cano, Alonzo, paintings by, 23, 58. 

Canova, statue of Napoleon I by, 154. 

Canovas, del Castillo, demonstrations against, 
24, 26 ; oratory of, 26. 

" Canterbury Tales," the, 171. 

Capernaum, Christ's visit to, 452 ; healing of 
the nobleman's son at, 458 ; in the time of 
Christ, 467; ruins, 468 ; Christ's life and work 
at, 46S ; the tribute-money scene at, 468. 

Cape St. Martin, 9. 

Capilla Real, the, 61, 62. 

Capital of ancient civilization, the, 174. 

Capital of the world, the, 174. 

Capitoline Hill, 177. 

Capri, island of, 188. 

Capucine Cemetery, Rome, 182. 

Caralombos, convent of, 419. 

Caravan, life in a, 428, 432, 433 ; a camel, 432. 

Caravans, 89 ; Egyptian, 263 ; rendezvous of 
Asiatic, 556. 

Caria, 503. 

Carmel, Mount, 347, 442, 443, 449, 450, 453. 

Carob-trees, 350, 366. 

Carpets, Smyrna, 505, 506 ; collections of, at 
Constantinople, 540. 

Carriage, the secret of a graceful, 266. 

Carthage, Archbishop of, 126. 

Carthaginians, subjugate part of Spain, 52. 

Carthusian monks, 13, 14. 

Cartouches, Egyptian, 280. ■ 

Cartuja de Miraflores, the, 13, 14. 

Caryatids of the Rameseum, 284. 

Casa Loring, Marquis of, 64, 65. 

Casa Santa, the, 203, 454. 

Casino at Monte Carlo, the, 140, 141. 

Caskets, antique, 320. 

Caspian Sea, relative saltness of, 409. 

"Cassim," fatal forgetfulness of, 440. 

Cassiopeia, aspect of, in Egypt, 315. 

Castelar, Emilio, 25, 26. 

Castellar Mountains, 112. 

Castile, kings of, 14 ; kingdom of, 55. 

Castile and Leon, the capital of, 13. 

Castle Hill, Nice, 139. 

Castles : Pau, 8 ; San Sebastian, n ; Burgos, 
18 ; Toledo, 36 ; Gibraltar, 112 ; Nice, 139 ; 
in Italy, 205 ; Fort Pharos, 207 ; of Zion, 
captured by David, 355 ; of Antonio, Jeru- 
salem, 385 ; Tiberias, 465 ; at Banias, 473 ; 
of Europe, 532 ; the Earthenware, 532 ; of 
Asia, 532. 

Cat, an Egyptian, 270. 

Catacombs of Rome, 181, 189, 203, 228 ; in 
Russia, 228 ; at Asyoot, 264. 

Catalepsy, among howling dervishes, 330. 

Catapults, marks of, on walls of Stamboul, 539. 

Cathedrals : Bayonne, 9 ; Burgos, 15-18, 46 ; 
peculiarities of Spanish, 35, 46 ; Toledo, 
35, 46 ; Cordova, 39, 40 ; Seville, 46, 149 ; 
Granada, 61, 62 ; Malaga, 63 ; irreverence 
in, 63, 64 ; Gibraltar, 108 ; Oran, 120 ; Al- 
giers, 122 ; Marseilles, 137 ; San Lorenzo, 
Genpa, 144 ; Milan, 149-154 ; San Marco, 
Venice, 162, 165, 166 ; Florence, 169, 170 ; 
Naples, 188 ; in Italy, 205 ; St. Paul's, Lon- 
don, 370 ; Cologne, 370. 



Catherine, Queen of Cyprus, 166. 

Catherine de' Medici, 9. 

Cats, the worship of, 219. 

Catskills, headwaters of the Delaware in the. 

474- 

Caucasus, the Kalmucks of the, 559. 

"Cave, the Chapter of the," 513. 

Cave-dwellers, 61. 

Caves, used as stables in Palestine, 398. 

Caviglia, discovery in Egypt, 244. 

Cavour, Count, statue at Milan, 154. 

Cedar, Solomon's purchase of, 342. 

Cedars, of Lebanon, used in construction of 
Constantine's church at Bethlehem, 308 ; 
of Cyprus, 498. 

Celer, baker of Pompeii, 190. 

Censers, use of, by Copts, 331. 

Censorship of the press, Turkish, 562-565. 

Centaur, the constellation of the, 315. 

Center of the World, the supposed, 381 ; a 
cleft reaching to the, 394. 

Central Africa, rainfall in, 239. 

Central America, area and population of 
British, 115. 

Central Park, New York, Cleopatra's Needle 
in, 208, 306. 

Cervantes, Miguel de, statue of, 24, 25 ; house 
of, 29 ; scene of " Don Quixote," 36. 

Cesnola, General di, collection of Cyprian 
antiquities, 499 ; charges against, and re- 
wards conferred upon, 499. 

Ceuta, 81, 112. 

Chain pump, Egyptian form of the, 274. 

Chains, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Chaldeans, capture of Jerusalem by the, 355. 

Chamberlain, Joseph, 241. 

Chamounix, the valley of, 227. 

Champlain, Lake, beauty of sunset on, 192. 

Changeable suits of apparel, Egyptian, 320. 

Chapels: of Adam, 394; of St. George, on 
Lykabettos, 522 ; of the Annunciation, Naz- 
areth, 454 ; of the Apparition, 394; of the 
Blind, Cairo, 326 ; of the Egyptian Mary, 
390 ; of the Finding of the Cross, 394 ; of 
the Manger, 399 ; of the Nativity, 399 ; 
of the Raising of the Cross, 394 ; of the 
Scourging, 382, 385 ; of the Sepulcher, 394 ; 
of the Syrians, 393 ; of the Tomb of St. 
Jerome, 399 ; practice of building, 393 ; the 
Sistine, 186. 

" Chapter of the Cave," the, 513. 

Character, effect of climate on, 191. 

Charity, Jews subsisting on, 418. 

Charlemagne, ruins of time of, 4 ; son of, 154. 

Charles I, of England, visit to Madrid, 20. 

Charles II, of Spain, death of, no. 

Charles V, visits Cordova, 40 ; destroys part 
of the Alhambra, 56 ; assault on Algiers, 121. 

Charles IX, orders massacre of St. Barthol- 
omew, 9. 

Charms, use of, among the Nubians, 312, 313. 

Charon, origin of the fable concerning, 252. 

Chateaubriand, F. A., on the approach to Con- 
stantinople, 535. 

Chatillon, R. de, defeated by Saladin, 487. 

Chaucer, a follower of Boccaccio, 171. 

Chawia, the, 133. 

Cheesemakers, the valley of the, 356. 

Cheops, Pyramid of, 222, 225-231, 236; reign 
of, 229 ; the glories of the age of, 322. 

Chephren, reign of, 229 ; the Pyramid of, 229. 

Chessboard, an ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Chicago, an eccentric household from, 425. 

Chicken-bone, divination by a, 313. 



582 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Chiffa, River, 133. 

Child, a hostage for stolen property, 312. 

Child-eater, a, 273. 

Children, Samaritan, 439 ; Bedouin, 472. 

China, missions in, 335; the Methodist 
Church in, 496. 

Chinese, leprosy among the, 426. 

Chios, landing at, 503. 

Cholera, plague in Marseilles, 137 ; at Tou- 
lon, 138 ; epidemic in Naples, 192. 

Chorazin, in time of Christ, 467; site of, 468. 

Chosroes, raids the convent of Mar Saba, 403. 

Christ, the tears of, 200; statue of, 203 ; im- 
print of his feet, 203 ; the deity of, 207; con- 
temporary with completion of the Temple 
of JJenderah, 267 ; the Coptic belief in 
the divinity of, 331 ; flight to Egypt, 349 ; 
crucifixion of, see Crucifixion ; love for 
Jerusalem, 351 ; Jerusalem in the time of, 
355 ; healing the blind man, 361 ; betrayal, 
361, 365 ; as judge at the last day, 362 ; 
scenes in the life of, 365 ; weeping over 
Jerusalem, 369; the triumphal procession 
of, 369, 374 ; cave said to have been fre- 
quented by, 370 ; tradition of his second 
coming, 374 ; Mohammedan idea of, 378, 
S53. 554 ; a footprint of, 3S2 ; the Via Do- 
lorosa of, 382, 385, 386 ; scene of binding the 
cross on his shoulders, 385 ; sinking under 
the cross, 385, 386 ; mark of his shoulder, 
386; meeting with his mother, 386; address 
to the women, 386 ; anointing the body of, 
390; third appearance to Mary Magdalene, 
390 ; the piercing of his side, 394 ; the 
laborer sowing peas, and, 397 ; birthplace, 
398, 399 ; a Hebrew opinion of, 400 ; bap- 
tism of, 410, 452 ; temptation and forty 
days' fast, 413 ; route from Jericho to Jeru- 
salem, 414; a lunatic's delusion regarding 
the second coming of, 422 ; missing from 
his parents' company at Beeroth, 430; at 
Jacob's Well, 437; visit to Capernaum, 
452 ; last visit to Nazareth, 452, 453 ; life 
in, and connection with, Nazareth, 452- 

457 ; no relic of his manual work existing, 
456 ; first miracle, 458 ; miracles at Cana, 

458 ; the Sea of Galilee in the time of, 467 ; 
pay=; tribute-money, 468 ; walking on the 
water, 468 ; asleep on the Sea of Galilee, 
468 ; life at Capernaum, 468 ; declaration 
to Peter, 475 ; incidents in his life at Cees- 
area Philippi, 475, 476; destruction of 
image of, in church at Damascus, 484, 487 ; 
in praise of Smyrna, 507; tribulation of 
Smyrna for, 507, 508 ; cradle and bath, 540. 

Christ Church, Jerusalem, 422. 

Christian, the natural emotions of a, 399. 

Christian architecture, the most ancient 
monument of, 399. 

Christian heroism, 203. 

Christianity, growth of, in Alexandria, 207; 
a Mohammedan convert to, 265 ; in Egypt, 
309, 330-333 ; mixture of, in Mohammed- 
anism, 323 ; among the Copts, 330, 331 ; 
narrow line between Mohammedanism and, 
333 ; the sacred places of, 341 ; issues be- 
tween Mohammedanism and, 378 ; in Abys- 
sinia, 420, 421 ; in Damascus, 484 ; the life 
of, 522 ; Islam's victories over Judaism 
and, 543 ; the frontier of, 549. 

Christian quarter in Damascus, the, 483. 

Christians, their word rejected in Morocco 
courts, 98 ; belief of the early, regarding 
lunatics, 217; persecution of, in Egypt, 



264; early, in Egypt, 288; Mohammed's 
tolerance of, 323 ; paganism among, 325 ; 
renegade, 325 ; recapture Jerusalem, 356 ; 
animosity between Jews and, in Jerusalem, 
377 ; reverence for Rachel's tomb, 397 ; 
peculiar doctrine regarding settlement of, 
in Palestine, 422 ; undesirability of their 
control of Jerusalem, 425 ; agree as to site 
of Jacob's Well, 435; at Nabulus, 438; 
attitude of inhabitants of Nabulus toward, 
438; wars with Samaritans, 440; Samari- 
tans become, 440 ; rallying-point for, during 
the Crusades, 474 ; estimate of Saladin, 
487 ; slaughter of, in Damascus, 488 ; in 
Cyprus, 497 ; the preeminent interest of, 
in Smyrna, 507 ; of Smyrna, 508 ; contrasted 
with Turks, 559. 
Christian science, a Bedouin parallel of, 492. 
Christmas Eve, midnight mass in Makga 

cathedral, 63, 64. 
Chrysostom, St., folkwers of, burn church of 

Santa Sophia, 540. 
Churches: Christ Church, Jerusalem, 422; 
Gloria in Excelsis, 400 ; of Buda-Pesth, 
572; of Dionysius the Areopagite, 522 ; 
of the Annuncialion, Nazareth, 454, 455 ; 
of the Ascension, 369 ; of the Greeks in 
Syria, 419 ; of the Holy Sepulcher, 172, 382- 
394,420; of the Nativity, 398, 39.9; of the 
Three Eountains, the, 203; on Mount 
Gerizim, 437; St. Anne, Jerusalem, 382; 
St. John Lateran, 182 ; St. Maria Maggiore. 
399 ; St. Paul, Naples, 189 ; St. Paul 
Without the Walls. 186, 203 ; St. Peter's, 
Rome, 475 ; St. Polycarp, Smyrna, 508 ; 
San Marco, Venice, 162, 165, 166 ; San Mar- 
tino, Naples, 189 ; the Angel's Chapel, 3Q3. 
Cicero, statue of, in Naples, 189 ; on the First 
Cataract, 310; Ephesus and, 509; scene of 
his exile, 531. 
Cid, the, 14. 

Cigars, manufacture in Seville, 44. 
Cilicia, Samian colony in, 503. 
Cimon the Athenian, 509. 
Cincinnati, likened to Servia, 571. 
Cinnamon, trade in, at Asyoot, 263. 
Circassia, the white slaves of, 561. 
Circassians, in Constantinople, 547 ; at 

Robert College, 555. 
Circumcision of children born in the wilder- 
ness, the scene of, 413. 
Cistercians, a convent of the, 14. 
Cities of the Plain, destruction of the, 405, 

409, 410. See also Gomorrah; Sodom. 
Citron-culture, at Sulem, 443. 
City of Cities, the, 174. 
City of David, origin of the name, 355. 
City of the Soul, the. 174. 
City of the Tombs, the, 212, 213. 
City of Wolves, the, 263. 
Clauda, 206. 

Claudius, his name in the Temple of Den- 
derah, 269 ; contribution to the Temple of 
Isis, 309. 
Cleanliness, among the Samaritans, 439. 
Clemens VIII, Pope, indulgences granted by, 

26, 27. 
Cleopatra, Balm of Gilead planted by, 219 ; 
relations with Caesar, 269 ; contribution to 
the Temple of Isis, 309 ; residence at 
Samos, 503. 
11 Cleopatra," voyage of the, 208. 
Cleopatra's Needles, 208, 306. 
Clergymen, sale of photographs by, 439. 



Index. 



533 



Climate, effect of forests on, 115 ; influence on 
character, 71, igi ; the most delightful in 
the world, 93 ; effect on architecture, 190 ; 
influence on insanity, 217 ; influence in 
Egypt, 240. 

Cnidus, 503. 

Coates, Sir Peter, winter residence in Al- 
giers, 129, 130 ; death, 130. 

Cobblers, philosophical, 23. 

Cock, the warning to St. Peter, 417. 

Coffee, in Tangier, 89, 92 ; at the Khedive's 
dinners, 216 ; Egyptian, 299, 301, 334 ; in 
Jerusalem, 421 ; in Constantinople, 553. 

Coffee-cups, valuable, 216. 

Coffee-houses, in Cairo, 211. 

Cogoleto, Columbus's alleged birthplace, 143. 

Coins, in National Museum, Naples, 190; 
from Pompeii, 197 ; Ephesian, 511 ; trade 
in spurious, in Athens, 516. 

College of the Propaganda, the, 182. 

Colleges, Presbyterian, at Asyoot, 264 ; Sala- 
din's building of, 487. 

Cologne, how to view the cathedral at, 370. 

Colon, Fernando, founder of Biblioteca Co- 
lombina, 45 ; tomb of, 46. 

Colosseum, the, 178 ; statue of Nero at, 287. 

Colossi, the, 294-297, 538. 

Colossus, at Luxor, 277 ; of Rhodes, 499, 
500. 

Columbia College, honors Gen. Cesnola, 
499. 

Columbus, Christopher, first gold brought to 
Europe by, 35 ; discovery of America, 45 ; 
geographical studies of, 45, 46 ; transac- 
tions with the Inquisition, 46 ; embarkation 
from Seville, 49 ; Isabella's aid to, 56, 62 ; 
relics in Seville, 143 ; statue at Genoa, 143 ; 
birthplace, 143 ; statue at Milan, 154. 

Columbus, Ferdinand. See Colon. 

Column, a sweating, 540; the Burnt, at Con- 
stantinople, 560. 

Column of Gabriel, the, 454. 

Column of the Scourging, the, 385. 

Column of the Three Serpents, the, 560. 

Columns, a forest of magnificent, 279 ; weep- 
ing, 394 ; Eastern use of, 399 ; a street of, 
in Nabulus, 441 ; profane use of, 520 ; of 
Corinth, 527. 

Commerce in Morocco, 97-99 ; importance of, 
146; Venetian, 158; in Egypt, 240. 

Commercial morality of the Greeks, 529. 

Communion, administration of, among the 
Copts, 331. 

Como, Lake, view of the mountains of, from 
Milan cathedral, 153. 

Confederate promissory notes, 573. 

Confessional, in Spain, 71. 

Confessional-boxes, in St. Peter's, 182. 

Congresso de los Disputandas, of Spain, 24. 

Conjectures, a wilderness of, 385. 

Conjurors, 89. 

Connecticut, a Yankee from, at Thebes, 278. 

Conscription of laborers on Suez Canal, 337. 

Conservatorii, 145. 

Constantine, province of, 133. 

Constantine the Great, 177 ; victory over 
Maxentius, 181 ; Triumphal Arch of, 181 ; 
the mother of, 202, 203, 389 (see also Hel- 
ena) ; erects church at Bethlehem, 398 ; 
orders destruction of Temple of Diana, 512 ; 
makes Byzantium his capital, 536 ; builds 
the walls of Stamboul, 539 ; founding of 
Santa Sophia in time of, 540 ; the unfinished 
hippodrome of, 560. 



Constantinople, Saracen siege of, 55 ; historic 
painting of, 63; conquest by Venice, 158; 
bronze horses in, 162, 165 ; a rival of Naples 
for beauty, 188 ; ashes from Vesuvius at, 
195 ; mission of Eutropius to Lycopolis 
from, 264 ; the Bible House in, 265, 556, 557; 
Miss Mangan's influence at, 344; artists 
brought to Damascus from, 487 ; reduction 
of journey from Messina to, 524 ; voyage 
from the Piraeus to, 531 ; a rival of Rome, 
532 ; approach to, 532, 535-538 ; situation, 
535; sieges, 536; Mohammedan conquest 
of, 536 ; Roman acquisition of, 536 ; final 
capture by the Turks, 536 ; the modern 
city, 536 et seq. ; architecture, 537 ; De 
Amicis on, 537; mosques, 540; celebration 
of the Sultan's birthday in, 544 ; likened to 
London and Paris, 547 ; traffic in, 547 ; Ar- 
menians in, 549; shipping of, 549; the 
Greek patriarch at, 549 ; the Sultan's week- 
ly journey to worship, 550, 553 ; Robert 
College, 554, 555 ; atheism in, 555 ; burying- 
grounds, 556 ; Treasury, 557 ; custom of sell- 
ing the air, 557 ; hippodrome, 560 ; statue 
of Apollo, 560 ; the Seven Towers, 560, 561 ; 
fountains and scenery, 561 ; eunuchs, 561, 
562 ; dogs, 562 ; departure from, 567. 

Contrast, a striking, 314. 

Convents, Mar Saba, 400-404 ; of the Greek 
Church in Syria, 419. 

Conybeare, W. J., quoted, 490. 

Cook, the advantage of a fat, 258. 

Cooking, Egyptian representations of, 292. 

Cooks, wandering, in Egypt, 210. 

Coos, 501, 503. 

Coptic chapel at the Holy Sepulcher, 390. 

Coptic convent, on the Nile, 251. 

Coptic convents of Egypt, research in, 248. 

Coptic inscriptions in temple of Ptolemy 
Philopater, 288. 

Coptic language, decay of, 331. 

Copts, turbans of, 212; union with other races 
and sects in Cairo, 214 ; claim for the Vir- 
gin's Tree, 219 ; education of, at Asyoot, 
264 ; Christianity, 330, 331 ; customs, char- 
acteristics, etc., 331 ; intoxication, 331 ; com- 
pared with Arabs, 331, 332 ; number of, in 
Egypt, 332 ; in the Presbyterian mission 
schools of Egypt, 332, 333 ; ownership of 
the Stone of Anointing, 390 ; worship in 
the Angel's Chapel, 394 ; worship in the 
Chapel of the Sepulcher, 394 ; monastery 
and chapels in Jerusalem, 420 ; connection 
with the Abyssinian Church, 421. 

Coral, lack of, in the Dead Sea, 409. 

Coral-divers, of Symi, 500. 

Cordova, birthplace of eminent men, 36 ; his- 
tory, situation, characteristics, etc., 36-40 ; 
cathedral, 39, 40 ; past glories, 40 ; Roman 
remains in, 40 ; Muley Abbas in, 40 ; West- 
ern Caliphate at, 55 ; bull-pastures, 77. 

Coressian Gate, Ephesus, the, 511. 

Coressus, Mount, 510. 

Corfu, captured by the Venetians, 158. 

Corinth, view of, from the Parthenon, 521 ; 
arrival at, 524 ; old and new, 524 ; route 
from Athens to, 524 ; Gulf of, 524, 528 ; 
Isthmus of, 524 ; trade, 527 ; re-established 
by Csesar, 527 ; favorable site, 527 ; deca- 
dence, 527 ; rivals of, 527 ; weakness of the 
church in, 528. 

Corinthians, interest in naval matters, 503 ; 
scene of writing the First Epistle to the, 514. 

Corn, in Egypt, 240 ; Danube trade in, 549. 



5 §4 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Cornaro, Catherine, birthplace of, 166. 

Cornell University, the President of, in Cairo. 
335 ; in Athens, 516. 

Corporal punishment, in Tangier, 86. 

Correggio, Antonio, paintings by, 23, 171. 

Corruption in Morocco, 97, 98. 

Corso Garibaldi, the, 192. 

Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the, 192. 

Cortes, the Spanish, 24-26 ; attitude toward 
bullfights, 80. 

Cortes, Ferdinand, embarks from Seville, 49. 

Cossacks, in Constantinople, 547. 

Costume, Albanian, 528, 529 ; Arab, 212 ; Cir- 
cassian, 547 ; Egyptian, 209, 210, 212, 287, 
306, 320, 321 ; in Gibraltar, 107 ; Greek, 528, 
529, 547 ; in Italy, 200 ; of Mohammedan 
women, 547 ; Moorish, 90, 91 ; Nubian. 312 ; 
Servian, 571 ; Spanish, 66, 67 ; in Tangier, 
85 ; Tartar, 547 ; contrasts in, 547 ; descrip- 
tion of that of Hebrew women, by Isaiah, 
320, 321; of friars, 547; supposed, of Jo- 
seph's brethren, 255. 

Cotton-culture, in Egypt, 209, 239, 240. 

Council of Nice, 207, 540. 

Council of Ten, 167. 

" Count of Monte Cristo," 138. 

Coup d'etat, anniversary of Napoleon Ill's, 1. 

Courier, an invaluable, 215. 

Cours Belzance, Marseilles, 137. 

Courtesy, Oriental, 326. 

Court of Lions, Alhambra, 52. 

Court of Oranges, 40. 

Cow, worship of the sacred, 268. 

Cows, sacred, in Asyoot, 262. 

Cramps, wooden, a study for architects, 288. 

Cranes, on the Nile, 250; in the plain of Es- 
draelon, 442. 

Cranks, 154. 

Crawford, Earl of, residence near Florence, 
171. 

Crawford, Rev. John, mission work of, 4S9. 

Crema, conquered by Venice, 158. 

Cremation, at Milan, 154. 

Crescent, the, its first planting in Europe, 
532 ; legend of, 536. 

Cretans, St. Paul's characterization of the, 
206. 

Crete, 206 ; Samian colony in, 503. 

Crimea, the Tartars of the, 559. 

Crimean War, 382 ; Gen. Cesnola in, 499. 

Crio-Sphinx, Avenue of the. 279. 

Cripples, at Lourdes, 7 ; in Egypt, 222. 

Crisping-pins, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Criticism, difficulties of, 45; fashions in, 51 ; 
a latitude of, 497. 

Crocodiles, mummies of, 261 ; stories about, 
and worship of, 269-273 ; in Florida and 
Louisiana, 273. 

Crcesus, 509. 

Crophi, the mountain of, 310. 

Cross, the, binding on Christ's shoulders, 385; 
sinking under, 385, 386 ; Simon's bearing 
of, 386 ; Helena s search for, 389 ; Chapels 
of the Raising and Finding of, 394 ; muti- 
lated by Turks, 543. 

Crosses, Coptic use of, 331 ; manufacture of, 
at Bethlehem, 397. 

Crown of thorns, the, 385. 

Crow's Nest, Gibraltar, 112. 

Crucifixion, the, painting at Florence, 170 ; 
the railing of the thieves, 349 ; disturbances 
in Jerusalem after, 355 ; route to the place 
of, 382, 3S5, 386 ; questionable site of, 386, 
389 ; earthquakes at, 394. 



Cruelty in Spain, ecclesiastical, 10 ; to ani- 
mals, 74-80. 

Crusade, a famous, 81. 

Crusaders, a famous road of, 346 ; build a 
church at Mizpah, 350 ; capture Jerusalem. 
356 ; celebration of Palm Sunday, 374 ; a 
relic of the, 382 ; battle at Horns of Hattin, 
461 ; besiege Constantinople, 536. 

Crusades, the use of the word "assassin" 
during, 218 ; importance of Banias during, 
474 ; romance of, 487. 

Cubit, the measure of a, 214. 

Culture, the cradle of human, 206; rise and 
decay of Egyptian, 322. 

Cursing, Mount of, 437. 

Cushing, Caleb, at the Alhambra, 57. 

Custom-house inspection, at Irun, 10. 

"Custom of the country." the, 257. 

Cyanean Rocks, the, 548. 

Cyclopean ruins, 510. 

Cyprus, a British outpost, 115 ; birthplace of 
Queen Catherine of, 166; from Beirut to, 
497 ; climate, 497 ; size, population, etc., 
497-499 ; cedars and s%vords of, 498 ; Paul's 
voyage "under," 498; Lazarus's remark- 
able voyage to, 498 ; colonizers of, 498 ; 
resorted to by Scriptural characters, 498 ; 
Solon's residence in, 498; Cesnola's collec- 
tion of antiquities from, 499; voyage to 
Rhodes from, 499 ; beautiful women of, 499. 

Cyrus, king of Persia, grants timber for the 
Temple, 342. 

Dahabeah, travel on the Nile by, 241, 244, 

3 T 7- 

Dalmatia, geology of, 109 ; conquest by 
Venice, 158 ; removal of the Virgin's house 
from Nazareth to, 203, 454. 

Damaris, the believer, 522. 

Damascenes, wars between the Israelites and 
the, 480. 

Damascus, road from Jerusalem to, 374 ; 
ancient caravan route to Egypt from, 471 ; 
road from Banias to, 478, 479 ; Roman road 
to Palestine and Egypt from, 479 ; arrival 
at, 479 ; scene of Saul's conversion, 479 ; an- 
tiquity, 480: rivers, 480; Elijah and Elisha 
at, 480 ; conquered by David, 480; Paul's 
relation to, 480 ; described by Fzekiel, 480 ; 
quarters of, 483 ; likened to Cairo, 483 ; 
situation, 483 ; bazaars, 483 ; departed glo- 
ries of its blades, 483 ; Arab opinion of, 483 ; 
merchants, 483, 484 ; barbers, 484 ; clothing- 
trade, 484 ; captured by Saladin, 487 ; Mos- 
lem seizure of the Christian church, 484, 
487 ; Arab superstition regarding erection of 
the Great Mosque, 487 ; Mohammedan out- 
rages, 488 ; leper hospitals, 488 ; St. Paul's 
escape from, 488, 489; Protestant mission, 
489 ; Protestant cemetery, 489 ; an earthly 
paradise, 489 ; Buckle's tomb, 489 ; Cony- 
beare and Howson's description, 490; French 
occupation, 491 ; massacres, 491 ; road to 
Beirut from, 40 1 ; dismissing the caravan at, 
491 ; scenery about, 491. 

Damascus Gate, Jerusalem, 373, 374, 389. 

Dames de Nazareth, the, 496. 

Dan, share of Canaan, 342. 

Dan, luncheon at, 472 ; fountain of the Jor- 
dan at, 474, 475. 

Dancing, in Spain, 68. 

Dancing-women in Thebes, 299. 

Dandolo, Admiral, conquest of Candia. 162. 

Danes, at Robert College, 555. 



Index. 



585 



Danites, a desperate clan, 472 ; subdued by 
Benhadad, 472. 

Dante, statue at Milan, 154 ; birthplace, 167 ; 
influence on the Italian language, 167 ; a 
great, moral educator, 167; monument in 
Florence, 170. 

Danube, corn-trade of the, 549 ; tributaries, 
568 ; union with the Save, 571 ; at Buda- 
Pesth, 571, 572. 

I )arfoor, trade with Asyoot, 263. 

Dark Continent, scenery of the,_ 136. 

Darkness, religious ceremonies in total, 267. 

Darro, River, 50, 51. 

Dashoor, a cemetery of Memphis, 247. 

Dates, of Keneh, 266; the staff of life in 
Nubia, 312'. 

David, King, offense against the ark of the 
covenant, 350; love for Jerusalem, 351; 
defeats the Jebusites, 352, 355 ; the city of, 
origin of the name, 355 ; tomb of, 374, 417 ; 
supposed site of an altar of, 377 ; alleged 
praying-spot of, 381 ; scene of his defeat 
of the Philistines, 396 ; great-grandmother 
of, 397 ; scenes of his exploits, 398 ; the 
house of, 417 ; Tower of, 417 ; conquers 
Damascus, 480 ; Turkish views of his music- 
al abilities, 563. 

Day of Judgment, Mohammed's reckoning of 
the, 381. 

Dead, burial of the, in Genoa, 145, 146. 

Dead Sea, exploded traditions concerning. 
405, 406, 409, 410; view of, from the Mount 
of Olives, 370 ; rids to, 405 ; its causes, con- 
dition, and history, 405-410; level com- 
pared with the Mediterranean, 406 ; depth, 
406 ; specific gravity of its waters, 406 ; rel- 
ative saltness, 409 ; animal life, 409 ; pecu- 
liarity of its waters, 409 ;■ the author's belief 
concerning its formation, 410 ; a glorious 
view of, 413 ; reputed imprisonment of 
John the Baptist near, 441 ; its appalling 
but truthful name, 467, 475 ; the grave of 
the Jordan, 475. 

De Amicis, Edmondo, description of the Al- 
hambra, 50 ; on the approach to Constan- 
tinople, 532, 537. _ 

Deborah, song of victory of, 445, 446. 

" Decameron," the, 171. 

Decapitation, in Morocco, 94. 

Decatur, Captain, action in Algiers, 128. 

Decorations, ancient Egyptian, 320, 321. 

Dedication, the feast of the, 377. 

Deities, multinominal, 267. 

Deity, the attributes of the, according to the 
dervishes,_553, 554. 

Delaware River, analogy between the Jordan 
and the, 474. 

Delphi, the oracle of, 264 ; the Megarians 
and the oracle, 537 ; the tripod of the 
priest of Apollo at, 560. 

Demetrius, convent of, 419; impeaches Paul, 

Democracy, what constitutes a, 571. 

Demosthenes, statue of. in Naples, 189; 
scene of his orations. 522 : the city of, 523; 
oration against Philip of Macedon, 536. 

Denderah, the temple of, 266-269; paintings 
in, 267 ; religious ceremonies in, 267. 

Denmark, blackmailed by Algiers, 127. 

Dervish, anecdote of a, 560. 

Dervishes, spinning, 326; howling, 326-330 ; 
in Constantinople, 547 ; various orders of, 
553 ; spinning, of Constantinople, 553 ; at- 
tributes of the Deity according to, 553, 554. 



Desert, an hour alone in the, 311; near 
Damascus, 451; the Arabian, 335; the 
Egyptian, 222, 225, 226, 232, 238, 240, 247, 
258, 265, 269, 288, 293, 303, 337, 338, 479 ; 
the Libyan, 238, 293, 294. 

Despots, 544. 

Devil, the, crafty work of the, 381. 

Devilfish, at Naples, 190. 

Devils, the herd of swine and the, 471. 

Diadem, an ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Dialects, strange, 504, 506 ; at Robert Col- 
lege, 554 ; at Beirut, 554. 

Diana, warning to Alexander the Great from, 
507; alleged birthplace, 509; Temple of, 511. 

Diarbekir, captured by Saladin, 487. 

Diaz de Bavar, Rodrigo, Ruy de, 14. 

Dimas, the penitent thief, 349. 

Diocletian, martyrdom of St. Januarius 
under, 188; tribute of Pompeius to, 207: 
the Seven Sleepers in the time of, 513. 

Diodorus Siculus, relates origin of fable of 
Charon, 252. 

Diogenes, the home of, 527 ; Alexander's 
visit to, 527. 

Dionysius the Areopagite, the church of, 522. 

Dionysus, the theater of, 520. 

Disciples, myth concerning the, 361. 

Disease, influence of, on insanity, 217 ; a 
Turkish method of cure, 549. 

Dispensation, a special, 36. 

Display, Italian love of, 200. 

Disraeli, Benjamin, visits the Alhambra, 57. 

" Distance lends enchantment," 537. 

Divers, of Symi, the, 500. 

Divination by a chicken-bone, 313. 

Dizziness, cause of, 225, 226 ; in ascent of the 
Great Pyramid, 237. 

Djebel Mouzaia, 133. 

Doctors of divinity. George Eliot on the 
vanity < f, 439. 

Dodge, Rev. D. Stuart, work at Beirut, 495. 

Dodge, William E., 495. 

Doges, Palace of the, Venice, 165 ; corona- 
tion of the, 165. 

Dogs, in Egypt, 250, 266; in Palestine, 433, 
443, 451 ; of Constantinople, 562. 

Dome of the Rock, the, 378, 381. 

Domitian, the Persecutor, 177 ; contribution 
to the Temple of Isis, 309. 

Dom palms, 261. 

" Don," use of the title, 67. 

Donatello, sculptor, 167 ; crucifix by, 170. 

Donatus, figure of, in Florence, 170. 

Donkey, anecdote of a, 560. 

Donkey-boys, in Egypt, 244. 

Donkeys, use of, in Egypt, 203-211, 221, 222, 
244, 256, 262, 278, 294, 304, 50s ; in Jaffa, 
342, 343 ; in Palestine, 373, 374; in Smyrna, 
505 ; in Turkey, 547. 

" Don Quixote," authorship, publication, and 
scenes of, 36. 

Doomsday, a suggestion of, 196. 

Doorsy, John, Hobib, and Micheel, 452. 

Dor. 446. 

Dorcas, life at Joppa, 342 ; tomb of, 346. 

Doric architecture, 520. 

Dothan, ruins of, 441. 

Doxology, sung in a Spanish convent, 58. 

Dragoman, the selection of a, 428. 

Dramatic art, the cradle of, 520. 

Draught of fishes, the miraculous, 468. 

Dresden, Raphael's Madonna in, 186. 

Dress, Italian love of, 200. 

Drew, Samuel, 23. 



5 86 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Dried Fountain, the, 548. 

Drissian line of descent from Mohammed, 98. 

Dromedaries, 222. 

Drugs, trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

Drums, use of, by howling dervishes, 329. 

Drunkenness, in Spain, 23, 69 ; absence of, in 
Tangier, 93 ; among the French of Algeria, 
120, 121; of hasheesh, 218; among the 
Copts, 331. 

Druses, the, 477, 478 ; outrages of, in Damas- 
cus, 488. 

Dry atmosphere, preservative action of a, 231. 

Ducie, Lord, kills a crocodile, 273. 

Ducks, on the shores of the Dead Sea, 409; 
at Lake Huleh, 472. 

Durazzo, captured by Venice, 158. 

Dutch, in Smyrna, 506. 

Dutch Jews, in Tiberias, 465. 

Dutch school of painting, 23. 

Dyes, trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

Earlham College. Ind., represented on Mars' 
Hill, 521. 

Earrings, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Earthenware Castle, the, 532. 

Earthquake, effect on the statue of Memnon, 
297; destruction of the Colossus of Rhodes 
by an, 499. 

Earthquakes, at Vesuvius, 195, 196; hypoth- 
esis concerning, 196 ; effect on Pompeii, 
197; resistance of the Pyramids to, 231 ; rav- 
ages of, at Karnak, 279, 282 ; effect in Egypt, 
288; at the Crucifixion, 394; around the 
Sea of Galilee, 465 ; in Smyrna, 508 ; pre- 
cautions against, at Ephesus, 512 ; marks 
on the walls of Stamboul, 539. 

East, the vastness of the, 325. 

Easter Sunday, the commencement of the 
bullfight season, 74. 

Ebal, Mount, 435-437. 

Ebony bludgeons, trade in, at Assouan, 305. 

Ecce Homo Arch, the, 385. 

Ecclesiastical intolerance in Spain, 10. 

Ecclesiastical law, teaching, in Cairo, 326. 

Ecclesiastical legends, the most incredible of, 

454- 

Echoes, on Ebal and Gerizim, 437. 

Edfoo, temple at, 303. 

Education, at San Sebastian, 12; at Madrid, 
28; in Tangier, 86; perils of, in Morocco, 
98 ; in Italy, 202 ; in Egypt, 207, 264, 325, 
326, 332, 333; at Jaffa, 344; in Syria, 419; 
at Protestant mission in Jerusalem, 422; 
fostered by Saladin, 487; at Beirut, 492, 
495, 496; in Smyrna, 507; at Athens, 522; 
in Constantinople, 550, 554, 555. 

Edwird IV, of England, repairs church at 
Bethlehem, 398. 

Edwards, Amelia B., omission by, 264; on 
ophthalmia in Egypt, 265: on the stars in 
Egyptian skies, 315. 

Eggs, hatching ostrich, 220. 

Egypt, embarkation for, 205; first glimpse of, 
206; Herodotus on, 206, 207, 238; Gen. 
Grant's opinion of, 207; learning and the 
arts, 207 ; the most ancient mosque in, 214; 
taxation, 215; the Khedive, 215, 216; 
"Yankee Doodle" in, 216; lunatics, 216- 
219; use of opium, 217; the capital of 
Lower, 219; residence of Jacob's family, 
219 ; the Oxford of Old, 219; monumental 
customs, 230, 231; debt to the Nile, 238; 
Zincke on, 23a; the valley of the Nile, 239; 
influence of the Nile on intellectual char- 



acter, 240; corn in, 240; research in Coptic 
convents of, 248; vandals in, 249; the most 
instructive tomb in, 249 ; death-scenes, 250; 
curious funeral customs in, 251, 252; sup- 
posed painting of the arrival of Joseph's 
brethren in, 255; fascination of the girls of, 
256; ophthalmia in, 264, 265; preservation 
of remains in, 267, 278; Indian Sepoys in, 
268 ; worship of the sacred cow, 268 ; the 
silence of_, 274; extension of, 276; under 
Amenophis I, 276; introduction of the 
horse into, 276; last warrior king of, 276; 
demand for antiquities in, 278 ; a land of 
past history, 288 ; skill of architects in, 288 ; 
deceptive appearance of age in women of, 
299,300; the stones of, 302 ; the conservator 
of the monuments of, 303; extreme southern 
boundary of, 304; climate, 306; the best 
view in, 309; Christianity in, 309, 330-333 ; 
robbery in, 311, 312; an invalid resort, 316 ; 
the glory of, in Asia, 319; complexity of its 
mythology, 320; Ethiopian conquest, 321 . 
symbolic mythology, 321, 322 ; first historic 
king, 322 ; a long stage of unrecorded 
development, 322 ; Mohammedanism, 
323-333; Arab conquest, 330; French in- 
habitants, 332; number of Copts, 332; 
Roman Catholic Church. 332, 333 ; Greek 
Church, 332, 333; Protestant mission in, 
332, 333; Sabbath schools, 333; servants 
in, 334 ; French evacuation of, 336 : 
scarcity of rain in, 336; effect of construc- 
tion of Suez Canal, 337, 338; leaving, 338; 
palm-trees, 348, 442; flight of the Holy 
Family to, 349, 452; the skies of, 396; 
starving colony removed from Jaffa to, 
422 ; caravan route from Jerusalem to, 
444; cries of children in, 458; ancient 
caravan route from Damascus to, 471 ; 
Roman road from Damascus to, 479; a 
rival of Greece in the manufacture of antiq- 
uities, 516; ruins of, compared with those 
of Greece, 520 ; antiquities of, in Athens, 
522; hurried travel in, confusing, 530; 
reasons for the peculiarities of its arch- 
itecture, 538. 

" Egypt and the Holy Land," quoted, 406. 

Egyptian antiquities, Dr. Grant's collection 
of, 334- 

Egyptian Mary, Chapel of the, 390. 

Egyptians, belief in the immortality of the 
soul, 231 ; ignorance of the source of the 
Nile, 310; colonization of Cyprus, 498; in 
Constantinople, 547. 

Egyptology, 229; Dr. Grant's studies in, 334. 

Eighth wonder of the world, the, 33. 

El-Aksa, the Mosque, 381. 

Elba, embarkation of Napoleon for, 138. 

El-Bireh, 430. 

El-Burak, Mohammed's steed, 381. 

Eleanor, Queen, 14. 

Eleazar, leader of fanatics at Jerusalem, 355. 

Electric fish, at Naples, igo. 

Electricity, alleged emission of, by howling 
dervishes, 330. 

Elephant and bull fight, 78. 

Elephantine, the island of, 304-306, 310, 311. 

Elephants' tusks, trade in, 263, 305. 

Eleusis, Bay of, 524. 

Elgin Marbles, the, 521. 

El-Haram, Temple, translation of Mohammed 
to Jerusalem from, 378. 

Eli, residence of, 434. 

Eliezer of Damascus, 480. 



Index. 



587 



Elijah, alleged prayin?-spjt of, 381; smiting 
the waters, 410; at Damascus, 480. 

Elim, the Israelites' rest at, 492. 

Elimelech, Turkish views on Ruth's connec- 
tion with, 562. 

Eliot, George, on the vanity of doctors of 
divinity, 439. 

Eliot, Gen., monument to. at Gibraltar, in. 

Elisha, passage over Jordan, 410; interview 
with Naaman, 413, 480; fate of children who 
mocked, 430; residence at Dothan, 441; 
Benhadad's attempt to capture, 441 ; tomb, 
441 ; raises the child of the Shunammite 
woman, 443 ; at Damascus, 480. 

Elocution, study of, in Cairo, 326. 

Eloquence, influence of Florence on, 167. 

Elton, Lake, relative saltness of, 409. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, autograph of, at 
Thebes, 300. 

Emmaus, reputed sites of, 349, 351. 

Encyclopedic City, the, 186. 

Endor, the site of, 445, 446; the Witch of, 
446; mountain of, 455. 

Eneas, healed by Peter at Lydda, 347. 

Engedi, the wilderness of, 405. 

Engineering, feats of, 13, 133, 135, 192, 345; 
study of, in Egypt, 240. 

England, pastoral scenes of, 1 ; consumption 
of Bordeaux wines, 2 ; refuge of Spanish 
political offenders, 25 ; interests in Morocco, 
100; her long arm, 100; world-wide power, 
103, 115, 116; value of Gibraltar to, 114, 115 ; 
naval action at Navarino, 205 : gift to, and 
removal to, of Cleopatra's Needle, 208 ; 
statue of Raineses II presented to, 244; 
war in the Soudan, 263 ; interest in the Suez 
Canal, 336, 337 ; saving in distance to Bom- 
bay from, by the Suez Canal, 338 ; sup- 
ports Protestant bishopric at Jerusalem, 
421; possession of Cyprus, 498 ; represented 
on Mars' Hill, 521. 

English, at Gibraltar, 113; in Smyrna, 506; 
in Constantinople, 547 ; at Robert College, 

555- 

Enghsh architecture, in. 

English Hospital at Jaffa, 343. 

English language, changes in the, 530. 

Englishman, a disputatious, 266. 

Engravers, employment of, at Thebes, 276. 

" Enterprise," the, 104. 

Ephesians, the Epistle to the, 514. 

Ephesus, 503; compared with Athens, 509; 
a cradle of mythology, 509; distance from 
Smyrna, 509; compared with Jerusalem, 
509 ; importance and history of, 509-514 ; an 
authority on the ancient history of, 510; 
climate, 510; temples of, 510-512; practice 
of magic in, 512; reputed presence of John 
the Baptist at, 512; the riot in, 512, 513 ; 
Paul at, 512-514 ; a famous trade in, 513; 
the first bishop of, 513 ; St. John's residence 
in, 513 ; the legend of the Seven Sleepers, 
513; the town-clerk of, 513; Virgin Mary's 
residence in, 513; the church at, 513, 514; 
influence on St. Paul's mind, 514; contri- 
butions to Santa Sophia, 540. 

Ephraim, the mother of, 219; unsuccessful 
against the Canaanites at Gezer, 348. 

Ephrath, Rachel's journey from Bethel to, 

397- 
Epitaphs, in the National Museum, Naples, 

189. 
Epochs. Mohammed's calendar of, 381. 
Erastus. sent into Macedonia, 513. 



Escorial, the, 30-34; beggars in, 33; com- 
pared with the mosque at Cordova, 40; 
built by Philip II, 72. 

Esdraelon, the plain of, 441, 442 ; expulsion of 
the Bedouins from, 442 ; as a honey-field, 444. 

Esneh, 316. 

Esquiline Hill, 177. 

Esther, 91. 

Eternal City, the, 174. 

Eternity, a type of, 113, 226. 

Ethiopia, alleged course of the Nile through, 
310; a former king of, 321; conquest of 
Egypt by, 321. 

Ethiopians, omnivorous character of, 261. 

Etiquette, in Morocco, 99; Italian love for, 
200 ; Turkish, 560-562. 

Etruscan Museum, Florence, 169. 

Etruscan ruins, 171. 

Etruscans, influence of, on civilization, 169. 

Eucalyptus, anti-malarial effect of, 65; culti- 
vation of, 121, 139. 

Euclid, figure of, in Florence cathedral. 170. 

Eugenie, Empress, fondness for Biarritz, 9; 
at opening of Suez Canal, 215. 

Eunuchs, in Constantinople, 561, 562. 

Euphrates, River, highway of Indian com- 
merce, 158; Abraham's boundary, 241. 

Euripides, statue of, in Naples, 189 ; works 
of, 520. 

Euroclydon, 206. 

Europa Point, no, m, 115. 

Europe, the eye of, 100; relations of Gibral- 
tar to, 104; the oldest monarchy in, 140; 
fresco of, at Milan, 154; Mohammedanism 
unsuccessful against, 325; emigration of 
Jews to Tiberias from, 465 : the most inter- 
esting country of, 515; Castle of, 532; 
boundary between Asia and, 535; the 
Sweet Waters of, 561. 

European Poplar, the village of the, 548. 

Euscara, the Basque language, 12. 

Euthymius. St., founder of the convent of 
Mar Saba, 403. 

Eutropius, mission of, to Lycopolis, 264. 

Eutychians, the, 331. 

Euxine, the, 535 ; Byron on the, 548. 

Evangelical Church of Italy, proposed, 204. 

Eve, the creation of, 169. 

Everlasting Life, origin of the symbol of the 
waters of, 455. 

Excitability, Italian characteristic, 200, 201. 

Exclusiveness, St. Peter warned against, 343. 

Exodus, the, 282. 

Exposition, at Paris, the, 573. 

Extortion, in Morocco, 98. 

Ezbekiyeh, the, 212. 

Ezekiel, on the prosperity of Damascus, 480. 

Ezra, records the rebuilding of the Temple, 
342- 

Faith, an example of, 458; a curious mixture 
of works and, 492. 

Faith-cure, in Algiers, 125 ; in a Jerusalem 
colony, 425 ; a Bedouin case, 492. 

False Pyramid, the, 250. 

Family scandals, how avoided in Morocco, 
98, 99. 

Fanaticism, among Mohammedans, 99, 488 ; 
in Egypt, 326 ; a mixture of formalism and, 
330; among Jews of Jerusalem. 418; a 
dangerous spirit of, 425 ; in Damascus, 488. 

Fanatics, revolt of the, 355. 

Fans, ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Farm Village, the, 548. 



5 S8 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Farshoot, sheep and dogs at, 266. 

Fasts, incredible stories of, 413 ; among 
Abyssinian Christians, 420, 421. 

Fatalism, in Italy, 200; Mohammedan, 323, 
325 ; in trade, 484. 

Father Abraham, 278. 

Father of History, the, 219, 221. 

Father Tiber, 177. 

Fatimites, Hakem, Caliph of the, 477. 

F'ayoum, the, 274. 

Fayum, Presbyterian mission in, 332. 

Feathers, trade in, at Asyoot, 263. 

Fellaheen, the, 274, 287. 

Ferdinand and Isabella, relic of, 20 ; resi- 
dence in the Alhambra, 56 ; effigies and 
sepulchers of, 61, 62. 

Ferdinand of Aragon, marriage of, 55. 

Ferdinand I, plot to steal the Holy Sepul- 
cher, 172. 

Ferguson, Adam, describes the seizure of the 
Christian church in Damascus, 484, 487 ; 
on the mosque of Santa Sophia, 543. 

Fevers, of Cyprus, the, 497, 498. 

Fez, Morocco, 55, 93, 94. 

Fez, the Turkish, 483 ; the Greek, 528. 

Fiction, Italian fondness for, 202. 

Field, David D., traveling in Egypt, 316. 

Field of Blood, supposed site of the, 361. 

Fiesole, 171 ; construction of the road to, 172. 

Fig-culture, in Palestine, 350; in Samaria, 
442 ; in Asia Minor, 509. 

Figs, of Mar Saba, 404 ; Smyrna, 505. 

Fig Spring, 471. 

Fig-trees, at Jerusalem, 361, 366 ; at Bethanj', 
414 ; at Shechem, 436 ; in Nazareth, 453. 

Fig Village, the, 548. 

Fillmore, Millard, visit to Gibraltar, 105. 

Filth, a center of, 256 ; among Jews of Jeru- 
salem, 418. 

Finding of the Cross, Chapel of the, 394. 

Firs, Solomon's purchase of, 342. 

First Cataract of the Nile, the, scarcity of 
crocodiles below, 273 ; the trip to the, 304, 
306, 309-312 ; dangers of the, 311. 

Fish, of the Nile. 2=50 ; in the Dead Sea, 409 ; 
in the Sea of Galilee, 468. 

Fishermen on the Nile, 250. 

Fishes, the miraculous draught of, 468. 

Five thousand, miracle of feeding the, 461. 

" Flawless Lyric," the, 314. 

Flemish school of painting, 23. 

Fliedner, Rev. Fritz, Lutheran minister in 
Madrid, 28. 

Florence, 167-173, 275 ; famous artists and 
scientists, 167; situation, 168; cathedral, 
169, 170 ; church of Santa Croce, 170 ; gal- 
leries and palaces, 171; facilities for study 
of art, 173. 

Florida, the alligator and crocodile in, 273. 

Floyd, Rollo, survivor of American colony in 
Palestine, 422. 

Flute, use of the, by howling dervishes, 329. 

Folkestone, 1. 

Fonqueville, on the approach to Constanti- 
nople, 532. 

Foot, a much-kissed, 182 ; oriental custom of 
kissing the, 218. 

Ford, Richard, residence in, and description 
of. the Alhambra, 57. 

Forest of magnificent columns, a, 279. 

Forest of Philosophers, the, 507. 

Forests, improvident waste of, 19 ; effect of 
destruction of, 177. 

Forge of Vulcan, the, 194. 



Formalism, a mixture of fanaticism and, 330. 

" Former rain, the," 429. 

Fort Pharos, 207. 

Forty-days' fast, the scene of Christ's, 413. 

Forum, the, grandeur of, 178. 

Fossils, at Gibraltar, 109. 

Foucauld, Dr., explorer of Morocco, 97. 

Foundling asylums in Spain, 69. 

Foundling Hospitals, necessity of, urged by 
San Juan de Dios, 58. 

Fountain, at the tomb of Dorcas, 345, 346; of 
Gideon, 443 ; of the Virgin, 361, 362. 

Fourth New York Cavalry, Gen. Di Cesnola's 
service in the, 499. 

Fowler, Rev. Bishop Charles H., in Cairo.335. 

France, an anniversary in, 1 ; the coup d'etat 
in, 2 ; aid to the United States, 2, 3 ; scen- 
ery of, 3 ; boundary between Spain and, 9 ; 
ravaged by the Vandals, 32 ; claim on 
throne of Spain, no; efforts to capture 
Gibraltar, 110; conquers Algeria, 128, 133; 
boundary between Sardinia and, 139; naval 
action at Navarino, 205 ; interest in the Suez 
Canal, 336; manufacture of spurious coins 
and gems in, 516. 

Franciscan monks, monastery at Ramleh. 
348 ; control the site of Gethsemane, 362 ; 
monastery in Jerusalem, 421. 

Franconia Notch, the Old Man of the Moun 
tain in, compared with the Sphinx, 235. 

Franklin, Benjamin, mission to France, 2, 3. 

Franks, expelled from Palestine, 487. 

Frank Street, Smyrna, 505. 

Franz Josef, the emperor, 573. 

Fraudulent antiquities, trade in, 516, 519. 

Free Church, work in Italy, 204. 

Freedom of the press, in Italy, 202. 

Freethinkers, in Italy, 202. 

French, destruction of part of the Alhambra. 
56 ; in Algeria, 120; war with the Kabyles, 
133; compared with Italians, 200; in 
Egypt, 332 ; evacuation of Kgypt, 336 ; 
roadbuilding of the, 133, 491 ; occupation of 
Damascus, 491 ; defeat of Abd-el-Kader. 
491; in Smyrna, 506; in Constantinople, 
538, 547 ; at Robert College, 555. 

French school of painting, 23. 

Frescoes of Pompeii, 196-198. 

Friars, in Constantinople, 547. 

Frugality, taught by Mohammed, 323. 

Ftuits, immense, in Jaffa, 344. 

Funeral customs, on the Nile, 25r, 252 ; 
among Mohammedans, 434. 

Funerals, in Genoa, 145, 146; in Egypt, 208, 
211 ; barbarities at Abyssinian, 421. 

Gabriel, his office at the last judgment, 362 ; 
stops the devil from stealing the golden 
nails, 381 ; deters the Holy Rock from fol- 
lowing Mohammed to heaven, 381 ; the col- 
umn of, 454 ; Mohammedan archangel, 543. 

Galata, 536; the bridge to, 544, 547; signifi- 
cance of the name, 548. 

Galilee, boundary between Samaria and, 441 ; 
a favored city of, 452 ; mountains of, 461 ; 
the chief city of, 465. 

Galileo, statue at Milan, 154 ; at Venice, 167; 
mementoes in Florence, 167 ; tomb of, 170; 
relics of, 172 ; visit of Milton to, 172. 

Galileo's Tower, 172. 

Galls, trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

Gambetta, grave of, 139. 

Gambling, at Monte Carlo, 140-142 ; a Scotch 
minister's experience, 141. 



Index. 



5§9 



Gami-el-Azhar, Mosque of, 325. 

Garden of Gethsemane. See Gethsemane. 

" Garden of the Lord," a, 410. 

Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 146 ; entry into Naples, 
102. 

Gastronomical paradise, a, 43. 

Gates, of Hebron, 373 ; of Herod, 374 ; of the 
Columns, 373, 374 ; of the Kings, 288-292 ; 
of the Prophet David, 374 ; of the Tribes, 
374 ; of the Western Africans, 374 ; St. 
Stephen's, 374, 382, 414 ; the Jaffa, 352, 
373. 

Gath, view of, from Tower of Ramleh, 347. 

Gaudo, lighthouse at, 206. 

Gauls, threatened attack on Rome, 560. 

Gautier, Theophile, on the approach to Con- 
stantinople, 535. 

Gavazzi, Alessandro, death of, 204. 

Gave, valley of the, 8. 

Gebel-Aboofayda, 261. 

Gebel et Tayr, 251. 

Geese, on the Nile, 250. 

Gehenna, 361. 

Gems, from Pompeii, 197 ; Egyptian, 320, 
321 ; trade in spurious, in Athens, 516; col- 
lections of, at Constantinople, 540, 557. 

Generalife, the, 58. 

" Genesis," the book of, mention of the Nile, 
241 ; confirmed, 282 ; authenticity of, 397 ; 
quoted, 397, 480. 

Geneva, scene of Calvin's work, 8. 

Geneva, Lake, compared with the Sea of 
Galilee, 462. 

Gennesaret, Lake of. See Sea of Galilee. 

Genoa, 143-146; share in Columbus's glory, 
143 ; dispute between the Viturii and, 144. 

Geography, allegorical figure, on Columbus's 
statue, 143. 

Geology, of Gibraltar, 109 ; fine point in, 305. 

George I, disregard for Gibraltar, no. 

George, St., tomb of, 489; chapel of, on 
Lykabettos, 522. 

Georgia, the white slaves of, 561. 

Georgians, ownership of the Stone of Anoint- 
ing, 390 ; in Constantinople, 547. 

" Georgics," composition of the, 192. 

Gerizim, 435. 

Gerizim, Mount, 435-437 ; Samaritan pilgrim- 
ages to, 440. 

German, a disputatious, 266. 

German Jews, appellation of, 465. 

German orphanages in Jerusalem, 422. 

German school of painting, 23. 

German Temple, the sect of the, 422. 

Germans, occupation of Naples, 191 ; in 
Constantinople, 538, 547 ; at Robert Col- 
lege, 555; 

Germany, in alliance against Spain, no; cor- 
onation of emperors of, 154 ; Damascus 
steel from, 483 ; mission work in Syria, 496. 

Geronimo, tomb of, 122. 

Gesticulations of Italians, 200, 201. 

Gethsemane, disputed church of, 365 ; Garden 
of, 362, 365, 370, 382 ; picture of the St. 
Veronica miracle in the, 386. 

Gezer, ruins of, 348. 

Gezireh, palace of, 215. 

Giant's Grave, the, 548. 

Giant's Mountain, 548. 

Giants, a city of, 275. 

Gibbon, Edward, description of Seville, 49. 

Gibeah, 370, 429. 

Gibeon, the miracle of the sun's standing on, 
348, 345 ; the plain of, 350. 



Gibraltar, landing of Taric near, 55 ; the eye 
of Europe, 100; position, scenery, impor- 
tance, commerce, history, etc., 103-116; 
compared with the North Cape, 112, 113 ; 
the sunset gun at, 116; departure from, 
116; the Libyan Mountains compared to, 
293 ; Patmos likened to, 502. 

Gibraltar, Bay of, in. 

Gibraltar, Rock of, 81. 

Gibraltar, Straits of, 81, 103, 112, 114. 

Giddiness, cause of, 226 ; in ascent of the 
Great Pyramid, 237. 

Gideon, the Fountain of, 443 ; overthrow of 
the Midianites by, 444. 

Gift of the Nile, the, 238. 

Gihon, Pool of, 358, 361, 417 ; valley of, 358, 
361, 396. 

Gilboa, mountain of, 446. 

Gilead, mountains of, 370, 436. 

Gilgal, site of, 413. 

Gilman, Henry, U. S. consul at Jerusalem, 
242 ; opinion of the Tower of David, 417. 

Giotto, painter, 167 ; architect of Florence 
cathedral, 169 ; bust of, 169. 

Gizeh, discovery of Sphinxes at, 248. 

Gladiatorial combats, Titus's, at Banias, 474. 

Gladstone, W. E., on Dante, 167; popularity 
in Italy, 187; fondness for Naples, 187 ; on 
the Italian nation, 201. 

Glasses, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Gloria in Excelsis, the church of, 400. 

Goats, in Palestine, 350. 

Gobat, Dr., bishop of Jerusalem, 421, 451. 

God, Mohammed's idea of, 323 ; the great and 
unspeakable name of, 381; the Unity of, 550. 

Goddess of Beauty, the Egyptian, 267. 

Gog, battle with Magog, 442. 

Gold, trade in, in the Soudan, 90 ; use of, in 

Egypt, 32i- 

" Golden Book," the, 172. 

Golden calf, Jeroboam's, at Bethel, 430. 

Golden Fleece, scene of Jason's voyage for 
the, 548. 

Golden Gate, the, 374. 

Golden Horn, the, 535, 536, 539 ; an excursion 
on, 549 ; magnificent prospects of, 557. 

Golden nails, Mohammed's, 381. 

Golgotha, the disputed site of, 386, 389. 

Gomorrab, popular beliefs concerning the de- 
struction of, 405, 410. 

Gondolas, Venetian, 158, 161. 

Good Samaritan, traditional scene of the par- 
able of the, 4T4. 

Goornah, Temple of, 284. 

Gordon, Dr., James M., Treasvirer of the 
American Board of Foreign Missions, 11. 

Gordon, Gen. C. G., killed at Khartoom, 238. 

Gortchakof, Prince, 25. 

Gospels, Coptic preservation of the, 331 ; as a 
guide-book on the shores of Galilee, 471. 

" Gothic Architecture in Spain," 35. 

Goths, influence on Toledo, 34 ; capture Cor- 
dova, 36 ; occupation of Seville, 43 ; admix- 
ture in Spanish population, 66 ; occupation 
of Naples, 191. 

Grace, a triumph of, 466. 

Grace after meat, in Egypt, 301. 

Graces, Asylum of the Muses and, 507. 

Grammar, teaching the, in Egypt, 326. 

Granada, approaches to, 50, 51 ; conquest of, 
55 ; restriction of the Moors to, 55 ; objects 
of interest, 58 ; scenery around, 58 ; beggars 
in, 61 ; picturesqueness, 112. 

Grand Canal, Venice, 161, 166. 



59° 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Grand Circus, Rome, 178. 
Granite, distinguished from syenite, 306. 
Grant, Dr. J. S., chief physician in Cairo, 
318 ; the helpful acquaintance of, 334 ; a 
reception at the house of, 334. 
Grant, Gen. U. S., visit to Gibraltar, 105; 

opinion of Egypt, 207 ; on the Baltic, 236. 
Great Agora, the, 510. 
Great American Combination Baseball Club, 

the, 228. 
Great Bear, Egyptian aspect of, 315. 
Great Britain, capture of Gibraltar by, no ; 
area and population of European depend- 
encies, 115 ; abolishes slavery in Algiers, 
128; entertainment by her consul at Thebes, 
300,301; occupation of Egypt, 305 ; mission 
work in Syria, 495 ; possession of Cyprus, 
498. See also England. 

Great Mosque of Damascus, the, 484. 

Great Pyramid (see also Cheops, Pyramid 
of), 222, 225-231, 236 ; the scene from, 479. 

Great St. Bernard, view of, from Milan cathe- 
dral, 153. 

Great Salt Lake, the waters of, 406. 

Great Temple at Karnak, 280 ; the avenue to 
the, 232. 

Grecian history, a living form, 523. 

Grecian mythology, compared with Egyptian, 
320. 

Greece, influence in Seville, 43; Venetian 
conquest of part of, 158 ; art of, 167 ; the 
coast, 205, 206 ; independence, 206 ; statues 
of philosophers of, 248 ; memories of an- 
cient, 503 ; the interest of, 515 ; war of in- 
dependence, 516 ; a rival of Egypt in the 
manufacture of antiquities, 516 ; palace of 
the king, 519; ruins of, compared with those 
of Egypt, 520 ; explorations in, 522 ; wars 
with Persia, 527 ; treating in, 529 ; children 
of, 529; language, 530 ; desirability of travel 
in, 530; secret of her ancient glory, 530 ; 
climate, 531 ; Armenian churches in, 549. 

Greek alphabet, an addition of four letters 
to the, 500. 

Greek Archipelago, captured by Venice, 158. 

Greek architecture, compared with Moorish, 
51- 

Greek art, an older than, 264. 

Greek Church, the, miracles in, 8 ; services 
°f} 33 J i 5 X 9 i ' n Egypt, 332, 333 ; compared 
with the Roman Catholic Church, 333 ; 
relations of Russian National Church with, 
348 ; claim regarding Gethsemane, 365 ; 
claim the oldest Christian church in the 
world, 365 ; at the Holy Sepulcher, 390 ; 
ownership of the Stone of Anointing, 390; 
chapel of St. Longinus, 394 ; worship in 
the Angel's Chapel and Chapel of the Sep- 
ulcher, 394 ; convent at Bethlehem, 398 ; 
pilgrims of, 413, 531 ; strength in Syria, 419 ; 
undesirability_ of its control of Jerusalem, 
425 ; trouble in, at Nain, 445 ; patriarch of, 
at Constantinople, 540; ignorance of priests, 
550 ; jealousy of Protestantism, 555. 

Greek civilization, lights on ancient, 189. 

Greek fire, used at siege of Constantinople, 

_ 53°- 

Greek monks, interest in the island of Pat- 
mos, 502. 

Greek newspapers, 516. 

Greeks, admixture in Spanish population, 66 ; 
in Gibraltar, 107, 113 ; occupation of Naples, 
igi ; battle-fields of, in Egypt, 288 ; igno- 
rance of source of the Nile, 310 ; in Presby- 



terian mission schools of Egypt, 332 ; at 
Miss Mangan's mission at Jaffa, 343 ; in 
Nazareth, 453 ; employment of artists in 
decorating Great Mosque at Damascus, 
487 ; colonization of Cyprus, 498 ; nav^l 
history, 503 ; in Smyrna, 506, 507 ; claim 
St. John's tomb, 513 ; independence, 528 ; 
character, 528-530 ; commercial morality, 
529 ; influence of scenery on, 531 ; in Con- 
stantinople, 547; commercial superiority 
of Armenians over, 549 ; at Robert Col- 
lege, 554. 

Greeley, Horace, famous ride of, 236. 

Gregory the Great, method of checking the 
plague, 185. 

Grenfell, Maj.-Gen. Sir Francis, on Dr. Pe- 
trie, 335. 

Grief, the Way of, 382, 385, 386. 

Grimaldi, the house of, 140. 

Grotte de la Vierge, 7. 

Grotte de Massavielle, 7. 

Grotto of the Seven Sleepers, the, 513. 

Grotto of the Shepherds, the, 400. 

Guadalquiver, River, 77. 

Guadarrama Mountains, the, 30. 

Guardias Civiles, 70. 

Guide, an invaluable, 215. 

Guides, tricks of, 346. 

Guipuzcoa, province of, n. 

Gulick, Rev. William H., our guide at San 
Sebastian, n. 

Gum-arabic, trade in, at Asyoot, 263. 

Gums, trade in, at Assouan, 305. 

Gun, a venerable, 400. 

Guy de Lusignan, captured by Saladin, 487. 

Gymnasium, of Ephesus, the, 510. 

Gymnast, a wonderful, 301. 

Gypsies, near Granada, 61 ; around Smyrna, 
506. 

" Hadji ! " 458. 

Hadrian, Emperor, birthplace, 49 ; the Os- 
tentatious, 177; the statue of Memnon and, 
298 ; rebuilds Jerusalem, 356; Arch of the 
time of, in Jerusalem, 385 ; Arch of, in 
Athens, 519; the city of, 519; completes 
the Olympieum, 519; a delayed project of 
the time of, 524. 

Hagar s-Salam, 250. 

Haifa, the harbor of, 341. 

Hair-brushing by machinery in Wolsey's pal- 
ace, 165. 

Hairpins, ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Hakem, founder of the Druses, 477. 

Halicarnassus, 503. 

Hall of Ambassadors, Madrid, 20 ; Alham- 
bra, 52. 

Hall of Columns, at Esneh, 316. 

Hall of the Obelisks, Karnak, 280. 

Hamburg, the stock-exchange of, 211. 

Hamlin, Dr. Cyrus, opens Robert College, 554. 

Hamor, governor of Shechem, 438. 

Hand and the key, the, 52. 

Handkerchief, miracle of St. Veronica's, 386. 

Hannah, scene of her visits to Samuel, 434. 

Hannibal, 509. 

Hapsburg, the house of, 573. 

Haram, Mohammedan burials on the, 362. 

Haram, the Temple E1-, translation of Mo- 
hammed to Jerusalem from, 378. 

Haram Esh-Sherif, the, 377, 381, 382. 

Harems, Turkish, 561. 

Harman, Prof. Henry M., on swimming in the 
Dead Sea, 406, 409. 



Index. 



59i 



Haroun -al-Raschid, reminders of the days of, 
334 ; a modern, 565, 566. 

Harper tomb, the, 292. 

Harpists, representation of, in Egyptian 
tomb, 292. 

Harris, Walter, perils at Sheshouan, 97. 

Hashbanny_ River, the, 475. 

Hasheesh, its use in Tangier, 93 ; in Egypt, 
218 ; as a factor in insanity, 218. 

" Hashshasheen," meaning of the word, 218. 

Hassan, Mosque of Sultan, 213, 216. 

Hatasou, the obelisk, 280. 

Hathor, worship of, 267. 

Hattin, Horns of, 461. 

Hauran, mountains of, 449 ; Druse settle- 
ments in, 478. 

Hautes-Pyrenees, scenery of, 3. 

Hawk, sacred emblem of the sun, 268. 

Hawthorns, on the Mount of Olives, 366. 

Hazel-nut village, the, 548. 

Hazor, the kingof, overthrown by Joshua,472. 

Headbands, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Health, effect of forests on, 19. 

Heat, sufferings from, 265, 294, 303, 316-318, 
366, 405, 414, 479; tempered by absence of 
humidity 265 ; in the valley of the Dead 
Sea, 409 ; in Palestine, 431. See also Cli- 
mate. 

Heathenism, Mohammed's hatred of, 323. 

Heaven, the quick route to, 381. 

Heavenly Water, the, 548. 

Heber, Bishop Reginald, on the rose of Shar- 
on, 346 ; " Cool Siloam's shady rill," 361. 

Hebrews, the Epistle to the, quoted, 386; a 
civilization at Banias older than the, 473. 
See also Israelites ; Jews. 

Hebrew women, Isaiah's description of their 
costume, 320, 321. 

Hebron, former capital of the Jews, 355 ; the 
Gate of, 373. 

Height, the dizziness of, 225, 226. 

Heine, Heinrich, the '"flawless lyric" 0^314. 

Helbon, the wine of, 480. 

Helena, Empress, pilgrimage and works of, 
202, 203 ; search for the cross, 389 ; discov- 
ery of the holy manger by, 399 ; founder of 
monastery at Mount Athos, 532. 

Helicon, 528. 

Heliopolis, removal of Cleopatra's Needles 
from, 208 ; road from Cairo to, 219 ; ancient 
glories of, 219 ; obelisk at, 2S0, 281 ; contri- 
butions to Santa Sophia, 540. 

Hell, how to paint a picture of, 92 ; " in the 
midst of Paradise," 142 ; prototype of, 361 ; 
tradition concerning, 362. 

Hellenic Greeks, in Smyrna, 506. 

Hellespont, the, 532. 

Hendaye, 10. 

Henri of Navarre, birthplace of, 8. 

Henry II, of England, 14. 

Herculaneum, remains of, 189, 190, 197 ; de- 
struction of, 195, 197. 

Heredia, Tomas, the estates of, 64, 65. 

Heredity, among lepers, 426, 427. 

Heresy, early trial for, 347. 

Hermitages, at the site of the Temptation 
and Fast, 413. 

Hermon, Mount, 435, 449, 453, 461, 462, 471, 
483, 491 ; the ascent of, 472-478 ; scenery 
around, 472, 473 ; resemblance of region to 
Ireland, 473 ; climate, 473; birthplace of the 
Jordan, 475 ; height above Cffisarea Philip- 
pi, 476 ; supposed scene of the Transfigura- 
tion, 477 ; the Mont Blanc of Palestine, 478 ; 



compared with Lebanon, 478 ; the cool wa- 
ters of, 479. 

Hermopolis, 261. 

Hernani, 12. 

Herod, Jerusalem recaptured in time of, 355; 
Jerusalem in the days of, 356 ; Philip the sci\ 
of, 473 ; temple erected by, at Banias, 475. 

Herod Antipas, builder of Tiberias, 465. 

Herod's Gate, 374. 

Herod's temple, ruins of, 377. 

Herodes Atticus, the Odeum of, 520. 

Herodotus, statue of, in Naples, 189 ; descrip 
tion of Egypt, 206, 207 ; on the use of hash- 
eesh, 218 ; at Heliopolis, 219 ; on the Pyra- 
mids, 221 ; on the Nile, 238 ; on the sources 
of the Nile, 310, 311 ; Scio in the time of, 503. 

Herons, on the Nile, 250. 

Herostratus, incendiary of the Temple of 
Diana, 512. 

High Plateaus of Algeria, 120. 

Hill of the Judge, 472. 

Hill of the Muses, the, 528. 

Hinnom, the valley of, 356, 361, 370. 

Hippocrates, the birthplace of, 500. 

Hippodrome of Constantinople, 560. 

Hippopotamus hide, Egyptian whip of, 257. 

Hiram, King of Tyre, navy of, 108; Solo- 
mon's transactions with, 342. 

Hirschberg, Prof., fellow-traveler on the Nile, 
241 ; study of ophthalmia, 265. 

Historic associations, influence of, 192. 

History, the cradle of, 206 ; the Father of, 
219, 22T ; secret of the importance of, 503. 

Hivites, former owners of Shechem, 438. 

Hobah, Abram's pursuit of the kings to, 489. 

Hobib, the eccentric, 450-452. 

Hog, utility and patriotism of the, 13. 

Hogge, Dr., 265. 

Hogs, Servian trade in, 571. 

" Hold the Fort," how viewed in Turkey, 565. 

Holland, consumption of Bordeaux wines, 2 ; 
alliance against Spain, no; blackmailed by 
Algiers, 127 ; interest in the Suez Canal, 336. 

Holy Family, resting-place of the, 219. See 
also Joseph ; Mary ; Virgin. 

Holy Land, the scallop-shell sign of a pilgrim- 
age to, 343 ; Mohammedan capture of, 461. 
See also Palestine. 

Holy Rock, the, 378, 381 ; attempts to follow 
Mohammed to heaven, 381. 

Holy Sepulcher, the, Ferdinand I's plot to 
steal, 172 ; Church of the, 382-394. 

" Home again," 573. 

Homer, bust in National Museum, Naples, 
189 ; question of his writing-powers, 335 ; 
alleged birthplace, 503, 509. 

Honesty, Coptic, 331 ; Greek, 529. 

Hong-Kong, saving in distance from London 
to, via Suez Canal, 338. 

" Hoo," the word, 330. 

Hood, Thomas, on silence, 311. 

Hoods, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Hooker, Sir Joseph, travels in Morocco, 97. 

Horizon, the type of eternity, 226. 

Horn, use of the, by howling dervishes, 329. 

Horn of Abundance, the, 536. 

Horns of Hattin, 461. 

Horse, an unthinking, 396; a peculiar, 510; 
tomb of a favorite, 556. 

Horse-market at Damascus, 483. 

Horses, Jerusalem, 395, 396; trading, 396; 
poqr quality of, in Palestine, 461 ; Arabian 
and Kentucky compared, 483 ; of Asia 
Minor, 510; of Eastern Roumelia, 567. 



59 2 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Horticultural gardens at Malaga, 65. 

Hosanna, 369. 

Hosea, prophecy regarding Samaria, 440. 

Hospitality, Scotch, 130; taught by Moham- 
med, 323; Turkish, 560, 561. 

Hospitals: Seville, 44 ; Kaiserswerth, in Jeru- 
salem, 422 ; for lepers, 426 ; Saladin's build- 
ing of, ,487. 

Hotel d'Etrangers, Athens, 516. 

Hotels, in Athens, 516. 

House-moving, miraculous, 454. 

House of Poverty, the, 414. 

" Howadji ! " 458. 

Howara dogs, 266. 

Howe, Fisher, on the site of Golgotha, 389. 

Howells, W. IX, on the Bridge of Sighs, 165. 

Howling dervishes, the, 326-330 ; contrasted 
with the spinning dervishes, 553. 

Howson, Rev. J. S., quoted, 490. 

Hudson River, analogy between the Jordan 
and the, 474. 

Huelgas, Las, convent of, 14. 

Huleh, Lake, region of, 472. 

Human life, the sun the symbol of, 226 ; visit 
to the Pyramids a type of, 237. 

Human nature, a study in, 418 ; a peculiar 

• specimen of, 445; the marvelous suscepti- 
bilities of, 488. 

Human progress, 73, 113. 

Humboldt, F. H. A., on the Nile, 239. 

Humidity, absence of, in Egypt, 265, 293. 

Hungarian Fund, the, 572. 

Hungarian Jews, appellation of, 465. 

Hungary, the capital of, 571-573. 

" Hydaspes," the, 205. 

Hyenas, in the Atlas Mountains, 135 ; at 
Tiberias, 471. 

Hypocrite, a, 142. 

Hypostyle Hall, at Karnak, 280; predicted 
fall of the, 282. 

Iberians, descendants of the, 12. 

Ibn-1-ahmar, additions to the Alhambra, 55. 

Ibrahim Pasha, defeat of, at Navarino, 205. 

Ichneumon, worship of the, 270. 

Idolaters, Mohammed's hatred of, 323. 

Idolatry, Samaritan hatred of, 440. 

If, Chateau d', 138. 

Ignatius, St., martyrdom of, 508. 

Ignorance, in Italy, 202. 

" I H S," the letters, 172. 

Iliad, the, was it committed to writing ? 335. 

Illusions, optical, 222, 405. 

Illyrian Mountains, the, 568. 

Images, manufacture of, at Bethlehem, 397. 

Imagination, an Italian characteristic, 200. 

Imbat, the, 507. 

Imitation, power of, 154. 

Immaculate Conception, the, 4. 

Immorality of Naples, 187, 190-192. 

Immortality, Mohammedan belief in, 323. 

Immortality of the soul, Egyptian belief in 
the, 231. 

Imperial City, the, 174. 

Imperial Gale, the, 540. 

Incubators, use of, for ostrich eggs, 220. 

India, Venetian monopoly of commerce from, 
158 ; commerce of, through Alexandria, 207 ; 
use of hasheesh in, 218; the buffalo intro- 
duced into Egypt from, 250; worship of the 
sacred cow in, 268 ; leprosy in, 427 ; causes 
of success of missions in, 466 ; Methodist 
Church in, 496 ; market-places of, 544. 

Indian hemp, smoking, 93; in Egypt, 218. 



Indian Ocean, intercourse with Egypt of 
countries of, 276. 

Indolence, produced by climate, 71. 

Indulgences, 26, 27 ; granted by Cardinal 
Lavigerie, 126; "at reasonable terms," 166. 

Infidelity in Italy, 202. 

Ink-pots, ancient Egyptian, 321. 

" Innocent Abroad," an, 237. 

Innocents, paintings of massacre of, in Flor- 
ence, 171. 

Inquisition, the Holy, Columbus's transac- 
tions with, 46 ; the birthplace of the, 49 ; 
Protestant teachings in the land of, 73 ; 
meeting-room of the, at Florence, 170. 

Insanity, of height, 154; Mohammedan belief 
regarding, 216, 217 ; cause of, among Ori- 
entals, 2r7, 218 ; hasheesh as a factor in, 
218 ; effect on the human voice, 329 ; a 
marvelous cure for, 402. 

Inscriptions, in temple of Ptolemy Philopa- 
ter, 288. 

Intemperance, in Spain, 69. 

Interest, Mohammed's prohibition of taking, 

3 2 3- . . . 

International Commission on the Suez Canal, 

33 6 -. 

Intoxicating drink, Mohammed s prohibition 
of. 323,324. 

Intoxication, among the Copts, 331. See also 
Drunkenness. 

Io, legend of, 535. 

Ion, birthplace of, 503. 

Ionia, the Museum of, 507. 

Ionian Confederation, the, 503 ; the metropo- 
lis of the, 509. 

Ionian manners and learning, center of, 503. 

Ionic architecture, 520. 

Ireland, resemblance of region of Hermon to, 

473- 

Irenseus, St., on St. Polycarp, 508. 

Iron crown, the, 154. 

Iron-mines, at Nemours, 119. 

Irreverence in Malaga cathedral, 63, 64 ; in 
Italy, 200. 

Irrigation in Milan, 149 ; in Egypt, 209, 221, 
226, 240, 273, 274, 276, 312 ; in Palestine, 431. 

I run, 10, 11. 

Irving, Washington, Spanish histories of, 10 ; 
description of the Alhambra, 50 ; residence 
in the Alhambra, 57. 

Isaac, supposed scene of the attempted sacri- 
fice of, 377, 390, 436 ; the well-digging cus- 
toms of, 435. 

Isabella I, a filial tribute from, 13 ; marriage 
of, 55 ; supports Columbus, 56, 62 ; attitude 
toward bullfights, 80. 

Isabella II, of Spain, 20. 

Isabella of Portugal, sepulcher of, 13, 14. 

Isaiah, description of costume of Hebrew 
women, 320, 321 ; description of the waters 
of Shiloah, 361. 

Ischia, island of, 188. 

Ishbiliah, 43. 

Ishmaelites, scene of sale of Joseph to, 441. 

Isis, chapel of, 268 ; worship of, 309 ; the 
Temple of, Philse, 309. 

Islam, the spiritual chief of, 94 ; memorial 
custom of, 543 ; victories over Christianity 
and Judaism, 543 ; meaning of the term, 559. 

Islands, the beauty of, 502. 

Ismailia, 335-337. 

Ismail Pasha, presents Cleopatra's Needle to 
the United States, 208. 

Ispola, Ispolis, 43. 



Index. 



593 



Israel, the national assemblies of, 350. 

Israelites, the, setting up of the twelve stones 
by, 413 ; Tabor acquired by, 476 ; wars be- 
tween the Damascenes and the, 480 ; rest 
at Elim, 492. 

Israfel, Mohammedan archangel, 543. 

Istrian Mountains, view from Campanile, 
Venice, 166. 

Italian language, its formation, 167. 

Italians, compared with French, 200; com- 
pared with Spaniards, 200 ; characteristics, 
200-204 ; unbelief among, 202 ; influence of 
Roman Catholic Church over, 204 ; in 
Smyrna, 506 ; at Robert College, 555. 

Italy, emigration of Visigoths from, 52 ; em- 
bassy to Morocco, 97 ; disputed sovereignty 
of, no; our entry into, 142 ; its chief sea- 
port, 145 ; Milan created the capital, 149 ; 
view from the Great St. Bernard, 153 ; first 
road to Switzerland from, 157; the Pantheon 
of modern, 170 ; independence, 186 ; Glad- 
stone's popularity in, 187; open-air life in, 201; 
improvement in, 201; infidelity, 202; Jews 
in, 202 ; freethinkers, 202 ; ignorance, 202 ; 
Protestant work, 203, 204; interest in the 
Suez Canal, 336; war with Abyssinia, 421; 
devotion of people to the Virgin's house at 
Loretto, 454; Sea of Galilee compared to 
lakes of, 462 ; Samian colony in, 503 ; ad- 
vantages of situation, 530. 

" ItineVaire de la Haute-Egypte," 250. 

Ivan the Terrible, 49. 

Ivory, Arab decoration in, 216; trade in, at 
Asyoot, 263 ; trade in, at Assouan, 305. 

Jabin, overthrown by Joshua, 472. 

Jackals, in the Atlas Mountains, 135 ; mum- 
mies of, 263 ; howling, 450 ; at Tiberias, 471. 

Jacob, residence of his family in Egypt, 219 ; 
erects a pillar on Rachel's grave, 397 ; at 
Bethel, 430; bequeaths his well to Joseph, 

- 435 ; Shechem in the time of, 438 ; curses 
Simeon and Levi, 438 ; an educated Samari- 
tan, 439. 

Jacob's Well, 435-438 ; Jesus at, 437. 

Jael, scene of the killing of Sisera by, 446. 

Jaffa, arrival at, 341 ; compared with Quebec, 
341 ; dangers of the harbor, 341 ; appear- 
ance of the city, 341-344 ; terrifying experi- 
ence at landing, 342 ; the Mildmay Hospital 
at, 343 ; scallop-shells, 343 ; plague at, 344 ; 
education, 344 ; Sunday-school at, 344 ; 
stormed by Napoleon, 344 ; immense fruits 
and vegetables, 344 ; Miss Arnott's school, 
344; distance from Jerusalem, 345; distant 
view of, 350 ; Protestant colony near, 422 ; 
settlement and sufferings of American col- 
ony near, 422 ; the " Quaker City " at, 422. 

Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem, 352, 373. 

Jaffa Medical Mission and English Hospital, 
343- 

James, St., monuments and portraits of, 169 ; 
tomb of, 362 ; sleeping-place of, 365 ; 
Christ's finding of, at Capernaum, 468 ; at 
the Transfiguration, 476. 

Jameson, Rev. John, Presbyterian minister 
in Madrid. 28. 

Janizaries, the, history and massacre of, 557, 
558 ; stronghold of, 560, 561. 

Januarius, St., painting of, 188; miracle of 
the blood of, 188, 189. 

Janus, Noah's great-grandson, 144. 

Janus, temple of, at Cordova, 39. 

Janus of Troy, 144. 



Japan, missions in, 335. 

Japho. See Jaffa. 

Jardin des Plantes, Algiers, 121. 

Jason, scene of the voyage of, 548. 

Jealousy, of explorer^ and travelers, 209 ; a 
foolish exhibition of, 557. 

Jebus, the city of, 352. 

Jebusites, the, region of, 352 ; Joshua's fail- 
ure against, 352 ; defeated by David, 352, 
355 ; founders of the Tower of David, 417. 

Jefferson, Thomas, an Egyptian, 329. 

Jehoshaphat, the valley of, 356, 362. 

Jenin, 441, 442. 

Jeremiah, his prophecies declared fulfilled, 
247 ; tomb, 373, 386, 389 ; supposed burial 
of the Ark of the Covenant by. 381. 

Jericho, journey from the Dead Sea to, 413 ; 
journey to Jerusalem from, 413, 414. 

Jeroboam, at Bethel, 430; the doom of, 435 ; 
scene of his division of the kingdom with 
Rehoboam, 438 ; site of erection of one of 
his golden calves, 472. 

Jerome, St., pilgrimage and work of, 399; 
translation of the Bible by, 399 ; the 
Chapel of the Tomb of, 399 ; on the burial- 
place of John the Baptist, 441. 

Jerusalem, compared to Granada, 51; captures 
and sieges of, 178, 355, 356, 365, 369, 377, 417, 
487; the Pyramids older than, 228 ; transpor- 
tation of wood from Lebanon to, 342 ; dis- 
tance from Jaffa, 345 ; travelers on the 
road to, 346 ; the ark brought to, 350 ; King 
David's capital at, 350 ; approach to, 351 ; 
David's love for, 351 ; St. John on the city 
°fi 35 1 ? Christ's love for, 351 ; St. Paul on, 

351 ; the hills surrounding, 352 ; influence 
of its situation on its history, 352 ; dimen- 
sions of, 352; a mountain city, 352; the 
Jaffa Gate, 352 ; Jebusite occupation, of, 

352 ; distinguished from Rome, Athens, and 
Thebes, 355; fortification of, 356; in the 
days of Herod, 356 ; not the city of the 
Bible, 356 ; complete ruin of, 356 ; rebuilt 
by Hadrian, 356; former population of, 357 ; 
size of, compared with European cities, 357 ; 
an unprepared visitor's experience, 358 ; 
confused notions about, 358 ; tombs of pil- 
grims, 361; highest elevation, 366 ; climate, 
366 ; distance to the Mount of Olives, 369 ; 
Christ weeping over, 369 ; from the Mount 
of Olives, 370 ; Lieutenant Lynch's im- 
pressions of, 370 ; the best view of, 370 ; 
quarries near, 373 ; Mohammedan posses- 
sion of, 373, 374 ; walls and gates, 373, 374 ; 
tradition of the second coming of Christ to, 
374; animosity between Jews and Chris- 
tians in, 377 ; feast of the dedication, 377 ; 
Mohammed's translation from Mecca to, 
378; the (Mohammedan) holiest place in, 
378 ; wailing-place of the Jews, 382 ; the 
second wall of, 389 ; visit of Helena to, 389 ; 
a disappointment at, 395 ; road to Beth- 
lehem from, 396; compared with Bethlehem, 
397 ; salt-supply of, 406 ; height above the 
Mediterranean, 406 ; from Jericho to, 413, 
414 ; return to, 414 ; the citadel, 417 ; the 
modern city, 418 et seq. ; Russo-Greek 
Church, 419; the Patriarch of, 419; Rus- 
sian pilgrims, 419 ; Copts in, 420; Armenian 
Church in, 420 ; Abyssinian Church at, 420 ; 
Christian indifference toward, 421 ; Roman 
Catholic Church in, 421 ; Protestant bish- 
opric, 421, 422; lunatics in, 422; places of 
amusement, 422 ; German orphanages, 422 ; 



594 



Travels in Three Continents. 



sociely, 422 ; Christ Church, 422 ; scandal 
and backbiting, 422 ; Protestant education 
in, 422 ; the new and the old, 425 ; the im- 
partial control of the Turks in, 425 ; an 
eccentric American colony in, 425 ; lepers, 
426; beggars, 426; departure from, 428, 
429 ; farewell view of, 429 ; the caravan 
route to Egypt from, 444 ; effect on Tiberias 
of the destruction of, 465 ; Titus's celebra- 
tion of his success at, 474 ; the King of, 487 ; 
meeting with Father Stephanos at, 497 ; 
St. Paul's journey from Caesarea to, 498 ; 
expulsion of Knights of St. John from, 500 ; 
compared with Ephesus, 509 ; Paul leaves 
Ephesus for, 512 ; tomb of St. John, 513 ; 
mosques, 540 ; Armenian churches in, 549. 
See also Gates. 

Jesse, Samuel's mission to the sons of, 397, 398. 

Jesuits, mission work in Syria, 496. 

Jesus. See Christ. 

"Jesus loves me," 444, 445. 

Jew, legend of a, 14 ; odium of the name, 560. 

Jewelry, Egyptian, 320, 321. 

Jewels, historic, 62. See also Gems. 

Jewish history, a living form, 523. 

Jews, influence on Toledo, 34 ; flight from 
Seville, 43 ; in Tangier, 82, 85, 91 ; their 
revenge on their oppressors, 91 ; as money- 
lenders, 99 ; in Gibraltar, 107 ; power in 
Algeria, 129; control of the press in Italy, 
202 ; turbans of, 212 ; extraordinary union 
with other sects and races in Cairo, 214 ; 
their part in affairs of Egypt, 255 ; Moham- 
med's tolerance of, 323 ; in Presbyterian 
mission schools of Egypt, 332; at Miss Man- 
gan's mission at Jaffa, 343, 344 ; agriculture 
among, 345 ; conquest of Palestine, 352 ; the 
capital cities of, 355 ; attempt to recapture 
Jerusalem, 355 ; courage in the siege of 
Jerusalem, 356; tradition concerning the 
last judgment, 362 ; opinion of the Kidron, 
362 ; animosity between Christians and, in 
Jerusalem, 377 ; return from captivity, 377; 
wailing-place of the, 382 ; wailing litany, 
382; on the Via Dolorosa, 385; reverence 
for Rachel's tomb, 397 ; " piety " and " con- 
scientiousness " among the, 414, 417; iden- 
tify the tomb of David, 417 ; return of, to 
the Holy Land, 418 ; fanaticism, 418 ; filth, 
418; superstition, 418 ; universal collections 
in aid of poor, 418 ; unfavorable impression 
created by, in modern Jerusalem, 418 ; un- 
desirability of their control of Jerusalem, 
425; agree as to site of Jacob's Well, 435 ; in 
Nabulus, 438; wars with the Samaritans, 440; 
in Nazareth, 453 ; in Tiberias, 465 ; two fa- 
mous books of, 465 ; bigotry of those in- Ti- 
berias, 466 ; combats with wild beast::, 474^ ; 
the sacred river of the, 475 ; quarter of, in 
Damascus, 483 ; expel Lazarus from Joppa, 
498 ; in Smyrna, 506, 507; Paul preaches to, 
at Ephesus, 512 ; a place not monopolized 
by, 521 ; St. Paul's dispute with, in Athens, 
521 ; outwitted by Greeks. 529 ; in Constan- 
tinople; 547 ; commercial superiority of 
Armenians over, 549; at Robert College, 555. 

Jezebel, residence of, 443. 

Jezreel, 442, 443 ; plain of, 442; Bedouin camp 
near, 443. 

Joab, heroic deeds at Jerusalem, 355. 

Joachim, father of Mary, 366 ; tomb of, 366. 

Jobar, 489. 

Job's monastery, 349. 

Job's Well, 349. 



John, the holy monk, 264. 

John, St., statue of, 169 ; on the city of Jeru- 
salem, 351 ; sleeping-place of, 365 ; healii.g 
the lame man, 374 ; quoted, 377, 386, 390, 
468 ; description of Jacob's Well, 435; 
Christ's finding of, at Capernaum, 468 ; at 
the Transfiguration, 476 ; the Revelation 
of, 501, 502 ; monastery of, 502 ; a disciple 
of, 508 ; residence in Ephesus, 512, 513. 

John Lateran, St., church of, 182, 186, 385. 

John the Baptist, St., remains of, 144 ; chapel 
of, Genoa, 144; reputed birthplace, 350; 
scene of his baptisms, 410 ; convent of, 419 ; 
reputed tomb, 441 ; disputed place of his 
imprisonment, 441; baptizes Christ, 452; 
one of the heads of, 484 ; the baptism of, 512. 

John XXII, Pope, indulgences granted by, 
26, 27. 

Jonah, paintings of, in the Catacombs, 181 ; 
embarkation at Joppa, 342 ; birthplace, 
458 ; tomb, 458. 

Joppa, 341 (see also Jaffa) ; embarkation of 
Jonah from, 342; Dorcas s life at, 342; 
Hiram's shipments to, 342 ; St. Peter's visit 
to, 342, 343 ; Lazarus expelled from, by the 
Jews, 498. 

Jordan, the River, valley of, 370, 405 ; 
Lynch's explorations, 406, 409 ; scene of 
John the Baptist's works, 410 ; bathing- 
places, 410; scene of Elijah's smiting the 
waters, 410; journey to, 410; "swellings" 
of, 410; Lot's view of the plain of, 410: 
drowning accidents, 410 ; crossed by the Is- 
raelites, 410; bathing in, 413; tributaries, 
440 ; extremity of the plain of Esdraelon at, 
442 ; baptism of Christ in, 452 ; course 
through the Sea of Galilee, 467 ; a unique 
river, 467 ; one of its fountains, 472 ; simili- 
tude to American rivers, 474 ; its sources 
and formation, 474, 475; the Little, 475. 

Joseph, son of Jacob, residence at Heliopolis, 
219 ; scene of his dream, 400 ; blessings pro- 
nounced upon, 431 ; Jacob's Well be- 
queathed to, 435 ; tomb, 435, 436 ; scene of 
his seizure by his brethren, 438 ; scene of 
his sale to Ishmaelites, 441 ; the pit of, 
472. _ _ 

Joseph, husband of the Virgin, tomb of, 366 ; 
altar to, at Bethlehem, 399 ; life in Naza- 
reth, 452, 454. See also St. Joseph. 

Joseph and Mary, flight to Egypt, 349, 452; 
at Beeroth, 430 ; return to Nazareth, 452. 

Joseph of Arimathea, legend regarding, 144 ; 
tomb, 393. 

Joseph's brethren, supposed painting of their 
arrival in Egypt, 255. 

Joseph's Well, 472. 

Josephus, records the , ;sidence of Jacob's 
family in Egypt, 219; estimates of popula- 
tion of Jerusalem, 357 ; on the tomb of 
David, 417 ; authority of, 441 ; on the im- 
prisonment of John the Baptist, 441 ; on the 
' Little Jordan," 475 ; work at Banias, 476. 

Joshua, the partition of Canaan b} r , 342, 434 ; 
conquests of, 348, 349, 352, 430, 472,474; 
converts the valley of Hinnom into a cess- 
pool, 361; remnants of altar erected by, 437 ; 
book of, quoted, 472, 476 ; Mount Tabor in 
time of, 476 ; tomb of, 548. 

Jotham, scene of his satirical parable, 436. 

Juan II, sepulcher of, 13, 14. 

Juda, 351. 

Judah, boundary line between Benjamin and, 
361. 



Index. 



595 



Judaism, mixture of, in Mohammedanism, 
323 ; the sacred places of, 341 ; Islam's vic- 
tories over Christianity and, 543. 

Judas, his betrayal of Christ, 361, 365 ; the 
tree on which he hanged himself, 396. 

Judas, of Damascus, Saul's lodging with, 488. 

Judea, the mountains of, 341, 343, 347, 349, 350. 

Judge, the Hill of the, 472. 

" Judges," quoted, 348. 

Judges, the days of the, 348, 350; tombs of 
the, 373. 

Judgment, Mohammedan belief in the, 323 ; 
tradition concerning the last, 362. 

Judith and Holofernes, paintings of, 171. 

Julesburg, the Platte above, compared with 
the Nile, 239. 

Julian the Apostate, 177. 

Julius Caesar, assassination of, 177; relations 
with Cleopatra, 269. 

Jupiter, the image that fell from, 5^. 

Justinian, castle of time of, on Mount Ger- 
izim, 436, 437 ; wars with the Samaritans, 
440; burning of church of Santa Sophia in 
time of, 540 ; rebuilds Santa Sophia, 540. 

Justin Martyr, on the birth of Christ, 398. 

Juvenal, records accident to statue of Mem- 
non, 297. 

Kabyles, the, hostility to Arabs, 133 ; war 
with the French, 133 ; theory regarding 
monkeys, 134 ; as workmen, 135. 

Kadesh, 284. 

Kadi Kaioi, 537. 

Kaiks, at Constantinople, 549. 

Kaiserswerth system, the, 28, 319 ; hospital 
at Jerusalem, 422. 

Kalapothakes, Rev. Mr., mission of, 519. 

Kalmucks of the Caucasus, the, 559. 

Karnak, temple erected at, by Amenophis I, 
276 ; work of Thothmes I at, 276 ; work of 
Sethi I at, 276, 277 ; ride from Luxor to, 
278, 279 ; ruins of, 279-283, 294 ; a tragic 
figure in, 282 ; causes of the ruin of, 282 ; 
beggars at, 282, 283 ; Temple of, 287 ; by 
moonlight, 302; revisited, 316; sphinxes 
from, 319 ; convent of Mar Saba contrasted 
with, 400. 

Karyaten, the lunatic asylum at, 492. 

Katharine, St., convent of, 419. 

Kefr-Hawar, 479. 

Kefr-Kenna, 458, 459. 

Keneh, 266. 

Kent, beauties of, 1. 

Kentucky, the horses of, 483. 

Khafra, the Pyramid of, 229. 

Khan Jubb Yusef, 472. 

Khartoom, 238; Negroes of, 305; telegraph 
line to, 311. 

Khedive of Egypt, the, 215, 216 ; royal yacht, 
243 ; as a sugar-manufacturer, 257, 258. 

Khepera, the principle of light, 322. 

Khiva, Saracen invasion of, 55 ; the Turko- 
mans of, 559. 

Khufu, the Pyramid of, 229, 

Kibleh, the, 326. 

Kidron, valley of, 362-366, 370, 382, 405, 414. 

" King Henry VI, quoted, 480. 

King of physical terrors, the, 196. 

King's Chamber, in Pyramid of Cheops, 227. 

" Kings," quoted, 348,440. 

Kings, Gates of the, 288-292 ; Tombs of the, 
^37°, 373- 

Kings, the private and public lives of, con- 
trasted, 573. 

31 



Kingsley, Bishop, grave of, at Beirut, 496. 

Kiosque, the Viceroyal, at the Pyramids, 222. 

Kirjath-jearim, identification of, 350; David's 
expedition to, to bring back the ark, 350. 

Kishon, Sisera's overthrow at the brook, 445, 
446. 

Kisil-Bash, the, 559. 

Kiss, the scene of the traitor's, 365. 

Kizzilbashes, in Smyrna, 506. 

Knife, use of, in Spain, 70. 

Knights of St. John, the, 500. 

Knights Templars, destruction of, at Horns 
of Hattin, 461. 

Knumhopt, tomb of, 252, 255. 

Kolonieh, reputed birthplace of John the 
Baptist, 350 ; reputed site of Emmaus, 351. 

Kolonos, the, 523. 

Kom-Ahmar, village of, 251. 

Kom-ombos, ruins at, 303, 304. 

Koorbash, the Egyptian, 257. 

Koornah, Temple of, 284. 

Koran, the, inscriptions from, in the Alham- 
bra, 52 ; teaching, 86 ; reading, 212,484 ; its 
position in the mosques, 213, 214 ; charac- 
ters in, 323 ; knowledge of, indispensable to 
the understanding of Mohammedanism, 323; 
quoted by howling dervishes, 329 ; records 
the translation of Mohammed from Mecca 
to Jerusalem, 378 ; inscriptions from, in the 
Mosque of Omar, 378 ; ancient copies, 381 ; 
descriptions of Paradise, 483 ; the legend 
of the Seven Sleepers, 513 ; alliance with the 
sword, 543 ; victory over the Old and New 
Testaments, 543. 

Kos, the historical interest of, 500, 501. 

Kossuth, Louis, in New York, 572 ; a promis- 
sory note of, 572 ; how regarded by the 
Hungarian people, 572, 573. 

Koubbas, 128. 

Kraneion, 527. 

Kremlin, compared with the Alhambra, 51. 

Kurds, outrages of, in Damascus, 488. 

" La Champagne," the steamer, 573. 
Lachine Rapids, compared with the First Cat- 
aract, 309. 
Lacrimae Christi, 200. 
La Croix, on the approach to Constantinople, 

532- 
Ladder, the angels', at Bethel, 430. 
" Lady, Our bright-faced," 343. 
Lafayette, Marquis de, Washington's eulogy 

of, 13. 
La Fontaine, the tales of, 191. 
Laguna morta, 161. 
Laguna viva, 161. 
Laish, 472. 

Lake District, compared with Nazareth, 453. 
Lakes, the purity of water of, 409. 
Lamartine, Alphonse de, on the approach to 

Constantinople, 535. 
Lame man^healed by Peter and John, 374. 
Lamentations of Jeremiah, supposed place of 

their writing, 373. 
La Mota, castle of, n. 
Lanarca, 497 ; Lazarus's remarkable voyage 

to, 498. 
Lances, poisoned, 305. 
" Land and the Book, the," 386, 495. 
Lane, Edward W., on the use of hasheesh, 21S. 
Language, in Smyrna, 504-506 ; the Greek, 

530 ; changes in English, 530 ; a modern 

babel, 504, 506, 547. 
Laocoons, paintings of, in Florence, 171. 



596 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Las Casas, Bartholomew de, birthplace of, 

49- . . . . 

Last judgment, tradition concerning the, 362. 

Last Supper, painting at Florence, 170 ; the 
table on which it was eaten, 185. 

Lathyrus, Ptolemy, sacks Thebes, 277 ; 
breaks the statue of Memnon, 297. 

Latin Churches, resorts of pilgrims of, 413 ; 
undesirability of their control of Jerusalem, 
425. See also Roman Catholic Church. 

Latin convent, at Bethlehem, 398. 

Latins, at Miss Mangan's mission at Jaffa, 
343 ; ownership of the Stone of Anointing, 
390 ; worship in the Angel's Chapel and 
Chapel of the Sepulcher, 394 ; ignore St. 
Longinus, 394 ; in Nazareth, 453. See also 
Roman Catholics. 

Latrun, village of, 349. 

" Latter rain, the," 429. 

Laura, 403. 

Laureta, the widow, 203. 

Lava, of Vesuvius, 104-197, 199. 

Lavigerie, Cardinal C. M. Allemand-, indul- 
gences granted by, 126. 

Law, influence of Rome on, 177 ; loyalty to, 
an Italian characteristic, 201 ; science of, in 
Egypt, 240 ; study of, in Cairo, 326. 

Lazarus, paintings of, in the Catacombs, 181 ; 
house and tomb of, 414 ; Greek legend re- 
garding, 498. 

Leander, the scene of his feat, 532. 

Lebanon, Solomon's purchase of wood from, 
342 ; cedars of, used in construction of 
Constantine's church at Bethlehem, 398 ; 
mountains of, 442 ; cedars of, 471, 498 ; 
compared with Hermon, 478 ; streams from, 
480 ; view of, from the desert, 491 ; mission 
work in, 496. 

Lebanon Pass, the, 492. 

Leeches, trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

Legends, regarding the Sacro Catino, 144 ; a 
wilderness of, 385. 

Legerdemain, in Cairo, 211. 

Leg ornaments, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Lemnos, 532. 

Lemon-culture, at Sulem, 443. 

Lemons, sweet, 49. 

Lemon-trees, at Jaffa, 344. 

Lenormant, Charles, grave of, 523. 

Leo XIII, grant of indulgences by, 126; a 
virtual prisoner, 186. 

Lepanto, Cervantes' service at, 25. 

Lepers, colony of, at Bethany, 414; in Jeru- 
salem, 426; number of, 426, 427; hospital 
for, in Naaman's house, Damascus, 488. 

Leprosy, Sir Morell Mackenzie on, 426, 427 ; 
in Jerusalem, 426; symptoms and spread, 
426 ; hereditary or not ? 426, 427. 

Lepsius, Karl R., on the Pyramids, 229-231 ; 
on the age of Memphis, 247 ; Egyptologist, 
266. 

Lesseps, Ferdinand de, French consul at 
Cairo, 336; residence at Ismailia, 336; con- 
struction of the Suez Canal, 336, 337. 

Lesseps, Mathieu de, Napoleon's chief of po- 
lice in Moscow, 336 ; France's first repre- 
sentative in Egypt, 336. 

Levant, conquest of, by Venice, 158. 

Levi, capture of Shechem by Simeon and, 
43.8. 

Levites, carry the ark to Jerusalem, 350; 
blessing from Mount Gerizim, 437; cursing 
from Mount Ebal, 437. 

" Liars and evil beasts," 206. 



Libraries: Alexandria, 207; Athens, 522; Bib- 
lioteca Colombina, Seville, 45, 46; the Es- 
corial, 33 ; Gibraltar, 105 ; Madrid, 20 ; 
Mar Saba, 404. 

Libyan desert, the, 238, 293, 294. 

Libyan Mountains, 261, 263, 264, 275, 276, 287, 
293, 294, 317. 

Licorice-paste, trade in, in Smyrna, 505, 

Life, the Egyptian doctrine of the source of, 
321,322. 

" Life and Epistles of St. Paul," quoted, 
490 

Life-saving stations on the Black Sea, 548. 

Light, the Egyptian principle of, 322. 

Lily, taken for the rose of Sharon, 346. 

Lime, profane manufacture of, 520. 

Linant Bey, M., makes plan for a canal at 
Suez, 336. 

Lincoln, Abraham, assassination of, 512. 

Linen, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

" Linked sweetness long drawn in," 64. 

Lion, the young lion and the dead, 186. 

Lion and bull fight, 78. 

Lions in the Atlas Mountains, 135. 

Liszt, Abbe Franz, a piano formerly belong- 
ing to, 572. 

Litany, the wailing, of the Jews, 382. 

Literary career, making a, in Turkey, 563-565. 

Literary men, the difficulties of, in Turkey, 
562-565. 

Literature, influence of Rome on, 177 ; posi- 
tion of Naples in, 187, 191 ; Italian, 202. 

Little Hermon, 444. 

Little Jordan, the, 475. 

Liverpool, arrival at, 1. 

Loggie, Raphael's, 186. 

Logic, study of, in Cairo, 326. 

Lombardy, 146 ; coronation of kings of, 154. 

London, arrival in, 1 ; fog, 1 ; Cleopatra's 
Needle, 208; stock-exchange, 211; situa- 
tion, 275 ; saving in distance to Hong-Kong 
from, via Suez Canal, 338 ; Miss Mangan's 
mission-work, 343 ; Jerusalem compared 
with, 357 ; the best view of St. Paul's, 370 ; 
likened to Constantinople, 547. 

London College of Physicians, opinion of 
leprosy, 427. 

Long, Dr. A. L., visit to, at Constantinople, 
538, 548, 553 ; position in Robert College, 
555; translator of the Bible into Bulgarian, 
568. 

Long bow, a favorite Eastern implement, 439. 

Longevity, incredible stories of, 413. 

Lookout Mountain, battle of, 11. 

Lord's Prayer, the Moslem equivalent of the, 

3 2 4- 

Lorenzo il Magnifico, 167 ; villa of, 171. 

Loretto, origin of the town, 202, 203 ; the 
house of the Virgin at, 454. 

Loring family, 64, 65. 

Lot, his view of the plain of Jordan, 410 ; res- 
cued by Abram from the kings, 489. 

Lotteries, in Spain, 69. 

Louisiana, the alligator and crocodile in, 273. 

Louis Philippe, estate of his son at Seville, 

44, 45- , . , A 

Lourdes, scenery around, 3 ; arrival at, 3 ; 

miracles of, 4-8 ; blessings obtainable at, 7. 
Louvre, Egyptian relics in the, 248. 
Loyalty to law, an Italian characteristic, 

201. 
Lucan, birthplace of, 36. 
Lucas, Paul, on the First Cataract, 310. 
Lucius Mummius, destroys Corinth, 527. 



Index. 



597 



Luke, St., statue of, 169 ; paintings by, 172 ; 
as an artist, 182, 185 ; voyage and ship- 
wreck with St. Paul, 206 ; account of the 
crucifixion. 349 ; gospel quoted, 351, 468 ; 
discrepancies regarding the site of the As- 
cension, 369 ; account of the Transfigura- 
tion, 476. 

Lunacy, cause of, among Orientals, 217, 218; 
hasheesh as a factor in, 218. 

Lunatic asylum, pride in a, 44 ; an unparal- 
leled. 492. 

Lunatics, treatment in Spain, 71 ; in Tangier, 
92 ; Russian belief regarding, 125 ; Mo- 
hammedan belief regarding, 125, 216, 217; in 
Egypt, 216-219; early Christian belief re- 
garding, 217 ; at Mar Saba, 403 ; in Jerusa- 
lem, 422. 

Lusignan, Guy de, captured by Saladin, 4S7. 

Luther, Martin, 28 ; visit to Rome, 182 ; the 
will of, 572. 

Luther's wife, paintings of, in Florence, 171. 

Luxor, Temple of, 277, 278, 2S7, 294 ; present 
condition, 277 ; the great hall, 277 ; modern 
life, 277, 278 ; occupation of the American 
consul at, 300; a wonderful gymnast at, 
301 ; return to, 316. 

Luz, 430. 

Lycopolis, 263 ; mission of Eutropius to, 264. 

Lydda, 347. 

Lydda, Bishop of, defeat of, at Horns of Hat- 
tin, 461. 

Lykabettos, Mount, 522. 

Lynch, Lieut. W. F., explorations of, 370, 
406, 409 ; impressions of Jerusalem, 370 ; 
belief in the Biblical accounts of the Dead 
Sea and the Jordan, 409. 

Lyons, meeting of the waters at, 239. 

Lysander the Spartan, 509. 

Macarius, discovers the true cross and the 
Holy Sepulcher, 389. 

Maccabees, the wars of the, 355. 

Macedonia, 531 ; Timothy and Erastus sent 
into, 513. 

McFadden, R. A., sickness of, 317-319 ; re- 
joins the party, 492. 

Machiavelli, tomb of, 170. 

Mackenzie, Sir Morell, on leprosy, 426, 427. 

Madder, trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

" Madonna," paintings of, in Florence, 171 ; 
Raphael's, 186. _ 

Madrid, aspect, situation, etc., 19-23, 29 ; cli- 
mate, 19, 43 ; royal palace, 20 ; visit of 
Charles I to, 20; bullfights, 20; the auto-da- 
fe\ 20, 23 ; paintings in, 23 ; order in, 23 24; 
an important purchase in, 26; " providen- 
tial " institutions, 28; Protestant worship, 
28, 29 ; contrasted with Paris, 29 ; Wesleyan 
mission, 29 ; the Loring estates at, 64 ; the 
bull-ring, 74, 77, 79, 80 ; a hero-elephant in, 
79 ; Convention of, 98. 

Madridlenians, summer resorts of, 12. 

Magdala, in the time of Christ, 467. 

Magdalene asylums, in Genoa, 145. 

Magellan, Ferdinand, birthplace, 49. 

Magi, the, paintings of, in Florence, 171 ; 
altar to, at Bethlehem, 399. 

Magic, practice of, in Ephesus, 512. 

Magnesian Gate, Ephesus, the, 511. 

Magog, battle with Gog, 442. 

Mahdi, effect of the wars of the, 263. 

Mahmood, Sultan, 540 ; tomb of his favorite 
horse, 556. 

Mahmood II, massacres the Janizaries, 558. 



Maimonides, tomb of, 465. 

Maine, experiences in, compared with Pales- 
tine, 432. 

Makhnaa, the plain of, 435, 436. 

Malaga, the approach to, 62 ; beggars in, 62, 
65 ; situation, scenery, and objects of in- 
terest, 62-65 ; Spanish Protestant church, 
64 ; sugar-planting around, 64 ; the Loring 
estates at, 64, 65 ; iron works of, 65 ; Christ- 
mas in, 65 ; the bull-ring, 74, 112. 

Malta, strength of, 115. 

Maltese, characteristics of, 107. 

Mamelukes, massacre of the, 213, 558. 

Mamertine Prison, the, x8i. 

" Maiiana ! " 70. 

Manasseh, the mother of, 219. 

Manetho, chronology of, 229. 

Mangan, Miss, her work at Jaffa, 343, 344. 

Manger, the holy, 399. 

Mango-trees, at Bethany, 414. 

Manlius, 509. 

Mansurah, Presbyterian mission at, 332. 

Mantles, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Manuscripts, Arab appreciation of, 216 ; 
Mariette Bey's search for, 248 ; one of the 
oldest in the world, 439. 

Man with the Iron Mask, the, 139. 

Marabouts, 125, 133. 

Marakesh, indignities to travelers at, 97. 

Marauders, in Palestine, 429. 

Marble, profane use of classic, 520. 

Marcellus, Vicomte de, on the approach to 
Constantinople, 532, 535. 

Marco Polo, statue at Milan, 154. 

Marcos, Senor, president of the Spanish 
Chamber of Deputies, 25. 

Marcus Aurelius, the Magnanimous, 177 ; 
column of, 178. 

Margaret of Valois, persecutes Calvin, 8. 

Maria Maggiore, St., church of, 399. 

Mariette Bey, Auguste, on the Pyramids, 
229, 230; discovery of sphinxes by, 232, 
248 ; temple exhumed by, 236 ; on statue 
of Rameses II, 244 ; declares fulfillment of 
Jeremiah's prophecies, 247 ; on the age of 
Memphis, 247 ; discovery of the Serapeum 
by, 248 ; writings of, 250 ; Egyptologist, 266 ; 
account of the Temple of Denderah, 266, 
267 ; on the crocodile, 273 ; on the history 
of Thebes, 276 ; prediction regarding Kar- 
nak, 282; on the temple at Edfoo, 303; 
conservator of the monuments of Egypt, 
303 ; on the First Cataract, 310 ; tomb of, 
319 ; chronology of Menes, 322. 

Maritza River, the, 567. 

Mark, St., tomb of, at Venice, 158, 165 ; 
monastery of, Florence, 170; account of 
the Transfiguration, 476 ; in Cyprus, 498. 

Mark Antony, 177 ; scene of his funeral 
oration, 181. 

Mark Twain, fame of, 236, 237. 

Marmora, Sea of, the, 532, 535, 539, 556, 560. 

Maronites, at Miss Mangan s mission at Jaffa, 
343 ; church at Nazareth, 455, 477, 478. 

Marquand House, Beirut, 495. 

Marriage, among lepers, 426 ; of the Adri- 
atic, the, X58. 

Marriages, barbarous ceremonies at Abyssin- 
ian, 421. 

Mar Saba, the convent of, 400-404; peculiar 
sensations concerning, 400, 403 ; women 
excluded from, 403 ; peculiarities, 403, 404 ; 
library at, 404 ; view from, 461. 

Marseillaise, the, 2, 138. 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Marseilles, climate, 137 ; commerce, 137 ; 
harbor, 137; cathedral, 137; saving in 
distance to Bombay from, via Suez Canal, 

338- . ,. . . 

Mars' Hill, 521, 522 ; religious service on, 521. 

Marston, Col., American consul at Malaga, 62. 

Martha, the sister of Mary, 414. 

Martineau, Harriet, on the view of Cairo, 213 ; 
on the Pyramids, 225, 228. 

Martyrs: Geronimo, 122; reputed tombs of 
Christian, at Tower of Ramleh, 347 ; skulls 
of, at Mar Saba, 403, 404; St. Polycarp, 
508; St. Ignatius, 508. 

Mary, Chapel of the Egyptian, 390. 

Mary, the sister of Martha, 414. 

Mary, the Virgin, Mohammedan view of, 378 ; 
Mohammedan view of the Son of, 378 ; 
meeting with her Son, 386 ; visit of the angel 
Gabriel to, 452 ; life in Nazareth, 452. 

Mary Magdalene, Christ's third appearance 
to, 393; chapel of, 390. 

Mary's Well, 455, 458. 

Masorah, the, 465. 

Massacres: of St. Bartholomew, 9; of the 
Janizaries, 558 ; of the Mamelukes, 213, 558. 

Mathematics, aptitude of the Copts for, 331. 

Matter, Egyptian doctrine of, 321. 

Matterhorn, view from Milan cathedral, 153. 

Matthew, St., monuments and portraits of, 
169 ; gospel quoted, 394. 476 ; account of the 
herd of swine, 471 ; account of the Trans- 
figuration, 476. 

Maxentius, Constantine's victory over, 181. 

Maydoom, the Pyramid of, 250. 

Mazzini, Giuseppe, tomb of, 146. 

Meander, the River, 503. 

Mecca, pilgrims to, 39. 212 ; aspect of mosques 
toward, 213; the holy well at, 214; mirac- 
ulous transportation of column to Cairo 
from, 214 ; the Riwak of, 325 ; the holy as- 
pect of, 326; the next holiest place to, 378 ; 
Mohammed's translation to Jerusalem from, 
378; Mohammed's humble occupation in, 
489; Mohammedans pray facing, 543. 

Mechanical arts, spread of, 169. 

Medici, Catherine de', 9. 

Medina, the Riwak of, 325. 

Mediterranean Sea, entrance into the, 81 ; the 
key to, 100 ; view from Gibraltar, 112; view 
from Marseilles, 138 ; view from Nice, 139 ; 
view from Mentone, 142 ; characteristics, 
146 ; scenery of, 146; admission of its waters 
to the Suez Canal, 337 ; a sorrowful view 
of, 338 ; view from Tower of Ramleh, 347 ; 
comparative levels of the Dead Sea and, 
406; height of Jerusalem above, 406; rela- 
tive saltness of waters of, 409 ; view from 
Mount Gerizim, 436 ; rivers flowing into 
the, 440 ; beginning of the plain of Esdra- 
elon at the, 442 ; height of Tabor above, 
44Q ; view from Nazareth, 453 ; difference 
of level between Sea of Galilee and, 465 ; 
height of Lake Huleh above, 472 ; Csesarea 
on , 473 > a distant view of, 492 ; once more 
on, 497. _ _ 

Medusa, paintings of, in Florence, 171. 

Megara, 524. 

Megarians, found Calcedonia, 537. 

Mejdel, 477. 

Melchizedek, scene of sacrifices by, 378, 381 ; 
scene of his encounter with Abraham, 436. 

Memnon, Colossus of, 297. 

Memory, Rogers's tribute to, 503. 

Memphis, 219, 244, 247. 



Meneptah I, tomb of, 276. 

Menes, first historic king of Egypt, 322. 

Alenkaura, the Pyramid of, 229. 

Mental aberration, the borderland between 
sanity and, 425. 

Mentone, 142. 

Mequinez, the Sultan's court in, 94. 

Mercedes, Queen, 34. 

Mer de Glace, a contrast on the, 226, 227. 

Merom, the waters of, 472. 

Messageries Maritimes, the, 338. 

Messiah, the Mohammedan view of the, 378. 

Messina, reduction of journey to the Piraeus 
and Constantinople from, 524. 

Methodist Episcopal Church, a faithful serv- 
ant of the, 496. 

Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society of 
the United States, church at Milan, 157. 

Methodists, in Italy, 204. 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gen. Di Cesno- 
la's connection with the, 499. 

Metz, surrender of, 139. 

Mevlevi, 553. 

Michael, St., archangel, statues of, in Flor. 
ence, 171 ; chapel at the Holy Sepulcher, 
390; Mohammedan archangel, 543. 

Michael Angelo, statue of, at Milan, 154 ; in 
Florence, 167 ; architect of St. Peter's, 
Rome. 169 ; tomb, 170 ; works, 186. 

" Middlemarch," quoted, 439. 

Midianites, scene of their overthrow by Gid- 
eon, 444. 

Milan, disputed sovereignty of, no ; situation, 
146; ancient rights in, 149 ; cathedral, 149- 
154; paintings. 150, 154; the plague in, 150 ; 
view from the cathedral roof, 150, 153 ; 
church of San Ambrogio, 154; gallery of 
Victor Emmanuel, 154; cemetery at, 154 ; 
cremation in, 154; triumphal arch of Na- 
poleon, 157; Protestant church in, 157. 

Mildmay Hospital, at Jaffa, 343. 

Miletus, 503 ; Paul's address at, 513 ; rival of 
Corinth, 527. 

Millingen, Prof., under the guidance of, 539. 

Mills, J. J., offers prayer on Mars' Hill, 521. 

Milton, John, visit to Galileo, 172; on the 
brook of Siloa, 361. 

Minarets, picturesque features of, 537. 

Mineral baths, use of, in Buda-Pesth, 572. 

Minerva's treasury, report of the registrar of , 
on the sources of the Nile, 310. 

Minutius, Quintus Marcus, award by, 144. 

Mirabeau, ri. G. R., imprisonment of, 138. 

Miracles, at Lourdes, 4-8 ; universality of, 8 ; 
apparition of St. Raphael at Cordova, 40; 
painting by St. Luke, 172 ; bones from the 
Catacombs, 182 ; liquefaction of the blood 
of St. Januarius, 188, 189 ; wrought by St. 
Paul's head, 203 ; transportations of the 
Casa Santa, 203, 454 ; transportation of 
column from Mecca to Cairo, 214; a sup- 
posed possessor of the gift of, 264 ; the sun's 
standing still, 348, 349; or natural events? 
349 ; St. Veronica's handkerchief, 386 ; 
wrought by the true cross, 389 ; the resto- 
ration to life of Adam, 394 ; weeping col- 
umns, 394 ; of St. Longinus, 394 ; Elisha's 
raising the dead, 443; Christ's first, 458; 
feeding the five thousand, 461 ; camels the 
instruments of, 465 ; the draught of fishes, 
468 ; the remarkable voyage of Lazarus, 498; 
wrought by Paul at Ephesus, 512 ; in Con- 
stantinople, 540. 

Mishna, the, 465. 



Index. 



599 



Missions, at Asyoot, 264 ; in China and Japan, 
335 ; i" Jerusalem, 422 ; scandal and back- 
biting in Jerusalem, 422 ; at Ramallah, 430, 
431 ; at Beirut, 492, 495, 496 ; in Smyrna, 
507 ; at Athens, 519; convention of workers 
at Sofia, 56S. 

Mississippi River, the, first impressions of, 
238 ; resemblance of a Nile steamer to one 
on, 243 ; changes of course, 483. 

Mistress of the World, the, 174. 

Mithridates, orders the massacre of all 
Roman citizens, 501 ; Ephesus and, 509. 

Mitrahenny, 244. 

Mitylene, 503. 

Mizpah, 350 ; burial-place of Samuel, 370. 

Mnason, journey with St. Paul, 498. 

Mnemonic trance, a, 174. 

Moab, mountains of, 370 ; view of, 405. 

Mohammed, pilgrimages to tomb of, 39 ; in- 
fluence of, 55 ; ideas on education. 86 ; de- 
scent of the Sultan of Morocco from, 94 ; 
lines of descent from, 98 ; descendants of, 
212 ; religion of, 323-333 ; fixed place of, 
333 ; as judge at the last day, 362 ; transla- 
tion from Mecca to Jerusalem, 378 ; on 
the value of prayers, 381 ; the golden nails 
of, 381 ; hairs from his beard, 381 ; trans- 
lation to heaven, 381 ; tombs of his wives, 
484; opinion of Damascus, 489 ; custom in 
preaching, 543; prophet of God, 550; pro- 
pheticcharacter, 5=54; sacred standardof, 558. 

Mohammed Abdel Rahman, 215, 221. 

Mohammed Ali, gift of Cleopatra's Needle to 
England, 208; mosque of, 212, 213 ; orders 
the massacre of the Mamelukes, 213 ; pre- 
sents statue of Rameses II to England, 
244 ; excavation work under, 316. 

Mohammed II, captures Constantinople, 536. 

" Mohammedan," explanation of the term, 

559- 

Mohammedanism, forbids drunkenness, 93 ; 
in Egypt, 323-333; religious fervor, strength, 
and tenacity, 324. 325, 330, 333 ; conten- 
tion in, 325 ; the central doctrine of, 333 ; 
a narrow line between Christianity and, 
333 ; converts from, in Presbyterian mission 
schools of Egypt, 333 ; the sacred places of, 
341 ; the issues between Christianity and, 
378 ; a hero of, 487 ; the true name for, 559. 

Mohammedan life, a study of, 433. 

Mohammedan prayer, a, 52. 

Mohammedans, grandeur of their ecclesiastic- 
al edifices, 39, 40 ; rise of power in Asia, 55 ; 
bigotry, 82 ; superstition, 99 ; turbans, 212 ; 
extraordinary union with other sects in 
Cairo, 214; how they regard insanity, 216, 
217; use of wine by, 217; use of opium, 
217 ; education of, at Asyoot, 264 ; manners 
and customs, 324, 434 ; renegades among, 
325 ; unbelief among, 325 ; in Presbyterian 
mission schools of Egypt, 332 ; compare 
the Roman Catholic and Greek Churches, 
333 ; capture of Jerusalem by, 365, 369, 
377; tradition concerning the last judg- 
ment, 362 ; possession of Jerusalem, 373, 
374 ; the holiest places of, 378 ; their idea 
of Christ, 378, 553, 554 ; traditions of, 378, 
381 ; reverence for Rachel's tomb, 397 ; 
belief regarding the tomb of Moses, 405 ; 
identify the tomb of David, 417 ; agree as 
to site of Jacob's Well, 435 ; in Nabulus, 
438 ; in Nazareth, 453, 454 ; capture of the 
Holy Land, 461 ; frequent captures and re- 
captures of Banias by, 474 ; in Damascus, 



4S3, 484 ; fatalism of, 484 ; Saladin's rank 
among, 487; fanaticism, 488; a favorite 
burial-place of, 489 ; in Smyrna, 507 ; con- 
tempt of, for Smyrna, 50S ; belief in legend 
of the Seven Sleepers, 513 ; conquest oi 
Constantinople, 536 ; alterations m Santa 
Sophia by, 540 ; custom of prayer among, 
543 ; claim regarding Joshua's tomb, 548 ; 
the devotions of, 550 ; number of, 559. 

Mohammedan saints, tombs of, 348. 

Monaco, 140. 

Monasteries: St. Mark, Florence, 170; Fiesole, 
171; Augustinian, at Rome, 182; on ihe 
Mount of Olives, 369; in and around Be.h- 
lehem, 398-404 ; of the Greek Church in 
Syria, 419; at Ramallah, 430; in Nazareth, 
454; of St. John the Divine, 502 ; on Mount 
Athos, 531, 532. Sec also Convents ; 
Mosques. 

Monkey, a huge, 301, 302. 

Monkeys, at Gibraltar, 108. See also Apes. 

Monophysites, the, 331. 

Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, on the ap- 
proach to Constantinople, 535. 

Mont Blanc, view of, from Milan cathedral, 
153; sterility of soil on, 293; prominence 
among the Alps, 449 ; of Palestine, the, 478. 

Mont Cenis, view of,from Milan cathedral, 153. 

Monte Carlo. 140-142 ; suicide at, 141 ; a 
Scotch minister's experience, 141; ministers 
at, 141, 142. 

Montefiore. Sir Moses, tenement-houses con- 
structed by, in Jerusalem, 418. 

Monterey, Fort, 139. 

Montero, Francisco Maria, 105. 

Monte Rosa, view from Milan cathedral, 153. 

Monte San Angelo, i83. 

Montpensier, Duke of, estate at Seville, 44, 45. 

Monuments, destruction of, at Naples, 192. 

"Monuments of Upper Egypt," 247, 250. 

Moon, the, standing in Ajalon, 348, 349. 

Moors, the vanquisher of the, 14 ; influence 
on Toledo, 34, 35 ; conquest of, 35 ; capture 
Cordova, 39 ; degeneracy of, 40, 99, 100 ', in 
Seville, 43 ; characteristics of architecture, 
51 ; legend regarding the Alhambra, 52 ; 
limitations of their powers in Spain, 55; ex- 
pulsion from Spain, 56 ; admixture in Span- 
ish population, 66; the bull-ring attributed 
to, 77; conquest of Spain, 81; their key to 
Spain, 81; in Tangier, 82, 89; commercial 
instincts and education, 86; characteristics, 
89; former greatness, 99 ; in Gibraltar, 107, 
no, 113; houses of wealthy, 121, 122; women 
among, 122 ; of Numidia, 133; as workmen, 

T 35-. 

Mophi, the mountain of, 310, 

Morea, the, 205. 

Moreh, the hill, 444, 446. 

Moret, Senator, 25. 

Moriah, Mount, 356, 377. 

Morocco, coffee in, 89; handicraft in, 8g ; 
climate, 93, 99 ; the Sultan's court in the 
city of, 94 ; difficulty of obtaining informa- 
tion in, 94 ; Thompson's travels in, 94, 97 ; 
how family scandals are avoided in, 98, 99 ; 
scenes, people, condition, and outlook, 82- 
100; view of, from Gibraltar, 112; likeness 
of houses in, to those of Pompeii, 197, 198; 
mosques, 540. 

" Morocco Times," quoted, 94. 

Mosaics, in Cordova cathedral, 39 ; in Flor- 
ence, 171 ; in Constantine's church at Beth- 
lehem, 398. 



6oo 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Moscow, painting by St. Luke in, 172 ; Na- 
poleon's chief of police in, 336. 

Moses, discovered by Pharaoh's daughter, 
214, 241 ; the Koran record of, 323 ; at the 
burning bush, 331 ; tomb (!) of, 405 ; Mo- 
hammedan estimate of, 554. 

Moses, our ancient guide, 395 ; trading horses 
with, 396 ; opinion of Christ, 400 ; describes 
the rules of the convent of Mar Saba, 404; 
reminiscences and descriptions of, 410; 
'"piety" and "conscientiousness" of, 414, 
417 ; linguistic talents, 506. 

Moses' Tree, 214. 

Moslems, miracles among, 8 ; prayers of, 324 
at Miss Mangan's mission at Jaffa, 343, 344 

Mosques : at Abou-Gosch, 350 ; Algiers, 122 
125, 540; of Amer, 214; Cairo, 211, 213 
Constantinople, 540, 550; Egypt, 540 ; El- 
Aksa, 378, 381 ; of Gami-el-Azhar, 325 
the Great, of Damascus, 484; of Hassan 
122 ; of Jerusalem, 540; of Mohammed Ali 
2i2, 213 ; of Morocco, 540 ; on the Nile, 251 
of Omar, the, 370, 378, 381, 487 ; at Oran 
120; Ramleh, 347; Santa Sophia, 536 
540-543 ; of Suliman the Magnificent, 550 
of Sultan Hassan, 213, 216; Tangier, 82 
exclusion of unbelievers from, 324 ; Sala- 
din's building of, 487 ; the church in which 
St. Polycarp preached, 508. 

Mosque-tax, the, 550. 

Mosquitoes, in Smyrna, 504. 

Mota, La, castle of, n. 

Mougel Bey, M., makes plan for a canal at 
Suez, 336. 

Mount. For those not given below, see the 
proper names, as Ebal ; Gerizim. 

Mount, the Sermon on the, scene of, 461. 

Mountain of the Bird, the, 251. 

Mount of Beatitudes, the, 461. 

Mount of Blessing, the, 436. 

Mount of Cursing, the 437. 

Mount of Olives, the, Titus's troops on, 355 ; 
Jewish burials on, 362 ; tradition concern- 
ing the last judgment, 362 ; height of, 366 ; 
compared with one of the Alps, 366 ; the 
Ascension from, 369; distance from Jeru- 
salem and Bethany, 369 ; nomenclature, 
369; monasteries on, 369; Russian tower 
on, 370; Jerusalem from, 370; view from, 
405, 414 ; a lunatic's delusion regarding, 422; 
farewell view of, 429. 

Mount of Transfiguration, the, 476. 

Mounts of Precipitation, the, 455. 

Mueller, Otfried, grave of, 523. 

Muezzin, the cry of the, 211, 212, 550. 

Mules, use of, in Palestine, 428. 

Muley Abbas, succession to the sultanship, 
98, 99 ; self-destruction of, 99. 

Muley Ali, " removal " of, 99. 

Muley Dris, " accident " to, 99. 

Muley Hassan, sultan of Morocco, 97-99. 

Mummies, their raison d'etre, 231 ; large 
find of, 248 ; of crocodiles, 261 ; of jackals, 
'263 ; of wolves, 263 ; method of burial, 291 ; 
of a priestly scribe, 320 ; curious teeth in a, 
320 ; a well-preserved, 320 ; representation 
of Osiris, 321. 

Mummius, Lucius, destroys Corinth, 527. 

Murad, deposition of, 558. 

Murad, Dr. Anutun, 344. 

Murillo, Bartholomew, paintings at Madrid, 
23 ; works of, 45 : house and tomb of, 46 ; 
mutilation of his St. Anthony," 46 ; birth- 
place, 49. 



Museo, the, Madrid, 23. 

Muses and Graces, Asylum of the, 507. 

Muses, the Hill of the, 528. 

Museum of Arabic Antiquities, Cairo, 216. 

Museum of Ionia, the-, 507. 

Museum of the Archaeological Society at 

Athens, 522. 
Music, divine, 63, 64; in Spain, 68; Italian 

love for, 200 ; Italy's eminence in, 202 ; 

sweet strains of, 449, 450. 
Mycerinus, the Pyramid of, 229. 
Myrtles, in Syria, 478. 
Mythology, complexity of Egyptian, 320. 
Myths, a wilderness of, 385. 
" My Winter on the Nile," 241. 
Mythology, Grecian, Roman, and Egyptian 

compared, 320 ; the symbolic, of Egypt, 

321, 322. 

Naaman, interview with Elisha, 413, 480 ; 
leper hospital in the house of, at Damascus, 
488. 

Naboth, the field wrested by Ahab from, 443. 

Nabulus, valley of, 438 ; position, 440 ; pecul- 
iarities of Samaritan worship at, 440; re- 
mains at, 441. 

Nahr-Barbar, River, 479. 

Nails, Mohammed's golden, 381. 

Nain, 444, 445. 

Nakedness, exhibitions of, in Egypt, 256, 257, 
282, 284, 306. 

Name-scribblers in Egypt, 249. 

Naples, 187-192, 205 ; disputed sovereignty 
of, no; blackmailed by Algiers, 127; age 
of, 187 ; climate, 187; Rogers on the beauty 
of, 187 ; rivaled by Constantinople, 188 
compared with Seville and Vienna, 191 
covered with ashes from Vesuvius, 195 
addition to our party at, 205. 

Naples, Bay of, 188, 192. 

Napoleon I, embarkation from St. Raphael, 
138 ; statue at Milan, 150, 154 ; orders com- 
pletion of Milan cathedral, 149 ; works at 
Milan, 157; transfers Roman bronze horses 
to Paris, 165 ; persuades the priests to pro- 
duce the miracle of St. Januarius, 189 ; 
landing-place in Egypt, 206; steps toward 
a canal at Suez, 336; his cruelty, genius, 
and energy, 344 ; plain of Esdraelon in time 
of, 442 

Napoleon III, coup d'etat of, 2; the Sultan's 
gift to, 3S2. 

Nathanael, quotation of, regarding Nazareth, 
453 ; birthplace, 458. 

National assemblies of Israelites, 350. 

National Museum, Naples, 189, igo. 

Nativity, the, 398, 399. 

" Natural History," of Pliny, 269. 

Naval history, the fame of Samos in, 503. 

Navarino, battle of, 205. 

Navarre, Henri of, birthplace of, 8 ; kingdom 
of, 55-. 

Navigation, in Egypt, 240. 

Nazarene, the, 452. 

Nazareth, house of the Virgin at, 203 ; rivalry 
between Samaria and, 440; a glimpse of, 
443 ; entry into, 451 ; pride and fame of, 452; 
devotion of pilgrims to, 452 ; life of Christ 
in, and his connection with, 452-457 ; 
Christ's last visit to, 452,453; population, 
453 ; proverb concerning, 453 ; situation of, 
453 ; scenery and beauty of, 453, 455 ; Mo- 
hammedan capture of, 454 ; the alleged 
table at which Christ and his disciples 



Index. 



60 i 



dined, 454; feelings on approaching, 435, 
456 ; feelings on leaving, 456, 457 ; depart- 
ure from, 457, 458 ; distant view of the 
mountains of, 471. 

Neapolitans, morals of, 190-192. 

Nebo, Mount, 370 ; region of, 405. 

Neby Musa, 405. 

Neby Samwil, supposed tomb of Samuel, 350. 

Negroes, in Tangier, 85, 89, 91 ; of Khar- 
toom, 305 ; at the First Cataract, 311; com- 
pared with Nubians, 312; dervishes among, 
329; in Smyrna, 506; in Constantinople, 

547- 

Nehemiah, describes the tomb of David, 417 ; 
customs from the time of, 440. 

Nelson, Admiral, feted at Gibraltar, 112. 

Nemours, the alleged harborof, 119. 

Nero, Triumphal Arch of, 162; the burning 
of Rome, 177; decoration of Temple of 
Denderah under, 267 ; his name in the tem- 
ple, 269; brass statue of, 287; inscriptions 
of time of, on statue of Memnon, 297; a de- 
layed project of the time of, 524. 

Nerva, contribution to Temple of Isis, 309. 

Netherlands, the Spanish, disputed sovereign- 
ty of, no. 

Neva, the, 275. 

New Jersey, a citizen from, at Thebes, 278 ; 
a reminder of, 504. 

Newspapers, Greek, 516; the difficulties of 
conducting, in Turkey, 562, 563. 

New Testament, nomenclature of the Mount 
of Olives in, 369; graphic descriptions of 
the, 471 ; references to Banias, 475; the Ko- 
ran's victory over the, 543: See also Blule. 

New York, discovery of mutilated Murillo 
canvas in, 46; the Italian quarter in, 201 ; 
Cleopatra's Needle in, 208 ; the stock- 
exchange of, 211; saving in distance to 
Bombay from, via Suez Canal, 338; relics 
of Cyprus in, 499; an oriental establish- 
ment in, 504; Smyrna carpets in, 505; 
embarkation for, 573. 

New York Academy of Medicine, discussion 
of leprosy by, 426. 

Niagara Falls, impressions of, 222 .; the First 
Cataract compared with, 310. 

Nice, geology of, 109; climate, 139, 140; 
scenery, 139; gayety of, 140; birthplace of 
Garibaldi, 146; Council of, 207. 

Nicodemus, the anointing of Christ's body by, 
390 ; tomb of, 393. 

Nicolaitans, the deeds of the, 514. 

Nightingale, Florence, the work of, 556. 

Nightingales, on shores of the Dead Sea, 409. 

Nijni Novgorod, the fair at, 357, 544, 547 ; 
how population of, is computed, 357. 

Nike, the Temple of, 520. 

Nile, River, 209, 212, 221, 294, 310; its rising, 
214, 215, 221, 238-240; quarries on, 231; 
grandeur, 238 ; first impressions, 238 ; Gift 
of the, 238 ; sources, 238, 310, 311 ; com- 
pared with the Platte, 239 ; valley of, 239 ; 
influence on intellectual character in Egypt, 
240; turned into blood, 241; steamboat 
travel on, 241 ; the voyage up the, 243 et 
seq. ; scenery, 243 et seq. ; fish, 250 ; super- 
stition on, 250 ; wrecks, 251 ; beggars, 251 ; 
a sugar-factory on, 257; at Asyoot, 261; 
English military movements on the, 263, 
305 ; journey of Eutropius up the, 264 ; 
crocodiles, 270, 273 ; compared with other 
rivers, 275 ; action of the water on Karnak, 
282 ; the ever-wonderful river, 288 ; its 



overflow, 294 ; destructive work, 304 ; the 
mystery of, solved, 311 ; aground in the, 316, 
317 ; incompetency of pilots on, 317 ; sick- 
ness on, 317, 318 ; sufferings on, 335 ; 
changes of course, 483. 

Nilometer, the, 214. 

" Nineteenth Century," quoted, 201 ; article 
on leprosy, 426. 

Nineteenth Dynasty, the, 244. 

Nive, River, 9. 

Noah, the great-grandson of, 144; the Koran 
record of, 323. 

Nob, 370. 

Nomads, around Smyrna, 506. 

Normans, occupation of Naples, 191. 

North America, British area and population 
in, 115. 

North American College, at San Sebastian, 12. 

North Cape, compared with Gibraltar, 112, 113. 

North Star, as seen in Egypt, 316. 

Norway, pine-tree of, 314 ; barren hills of, 350. 

Nose jewels, 320. 

Notre Dame 3'Afrique, church of, 126. 

Notre Dame de la Garde, church of, at Mar- 
seilles, 138. 

" Nozrani !" the opprobrious cry of, 438. 

Nubia, the valley of the Nile in, 239 ; trade 
with Asyoot, 263 ; music of, 305, 306 ; prox- 
imity to Abyssinia in, 420. 

Nubians, at Cairo, 222 ; at Edfoo, 303 ; char- 
acteristics, 305, 306, 312 ; at the First Cata- 
ract, 311 ; compared with Negroes and 
Arabs, 312 ; superstition among, 312, 313. 

" Numbers," quoted, 348, 350. 

Numidia, 133. 

Nun, the source of life, 322. 

Nun, Cape, 120. 

Obadiah, tomb of, 441. 

Obed-edom, the ark at the house of, 35c. 

Obelisk, the oldest in Egypt, 219. 

Obelisks, the building of, 219 ; at Karnak, 
276 ; at Luxor, 277 ; one from Luxor at 
Paris, 277 ; Hall of the, 280 ; the largest in 
existence, 280; hewing and transportation 
of, 302, 306 ; reasons for Egyptian, 538 ; in 
the hippodrome of Constantinople, 560. 

Oberland, the Bernese, 8. 

Observatory of Algiers, 127, 128. 

Ocean, relative freshness of waters of the, 409. 

Odeon, of Ephesus, the, 510. 

Odeum, of Herodes Atticus, 520. 

O'Hara's Tower, Gibraltar, 115. 

Ojen Mountains, 112. 

Old Man of the Mountain, compared with the 
Sphinx, 235. 

Old Testament, nomenclature of the Mount 
of Olives in, 369; references to Banias, 475; 
quoted, 489 ; the Koran's victory over, 543. 
See also Bible. 

Olive-culture, 219, 346,347,350, 431, 436, 450, 

453. 5 l6 - 
Olive oil, from the Garden of Gethsemane, 

365 ; manufactures of, in Nabulus, 438 ; 

trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 
Olives, Mount of. See Mount of Olives. 
Olivet, road from Jerusalem to, 374. 
Olive-trees, at Jerusalem, 361, 362,365-369; 

at Grotto of the Shepherds, 400; at Bethany, 

414 ; beauty of, 431 ; at Shechem, 436. 
Olive-wood, used for manufacture of rosaries, 

397- . 
Olympieum, the, 519 ; compared with the 

Temple of Diana, 519. 



602 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Omar, the Mosque of, 370. 

Omar, Caliph, visits the site of Solomon's 
Temple, 378. 

Ombos, worship of the crocodile by the in- 
habitants of, 270. 

Omens, belief in, in Italy, 200. 

On, residence of Jacob's family in, 219. 

Ophthalmia, prevalence in Egypt, 264,265. 

Opium, use of, in Egypt, 217 ; as a factor in 
insanity, 217, 218 ; trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

Optical illusions, 222, 405. 

Oracle. See Delphi. 

Oran, arrival at, 119; the town, 120; power 
of Jews in, 129. 

Orange-culture, 45, 49, 62, 65, 93, 120, 130, 219, 

344,345* 443- 
Oranges, Court of, 40. 
Oratory, in Egypt, 207 ; of ancient Greece and 

Rome, 530. 
Orchan, 532. 
Orgullo, Monte, n. 
Orient, the courtesy of the. 326. 
Oriental entertainment, 299-301. 
Orientals, cause of lunacy among, 217, 218. 
Origen, on the birth of Christ. 398. 
" Original of Things," symbols of the, 230. 
Orion, aspect of, in Egypt, 315. 
Orphanage at Beirut, 495, 496. 
Orphanages, German, in Jerusalem, 422. 
Orpheus, figure of, in Florence cathedral, 170. 
Orihez, governor of Bayonne, 9. 
Oscans, occupation of Naples, 191. 
Osioot, O'sioSt, O'Siout, 259-265. 
Osiris, amultinominaldeity, 267; worship of, 

309 ; representation of, in the Boolak 

Museum, 321. 
" Osiris," the steamer, 337. 
Ostentation in Italy, 145, 146. 
Ostrich-farm, an, 220. 
Ostrich-feathers, trade in, 90, 263; use in 

Egyptian costumes, 321. 
Osyoot, 250-265. 
Othman IV, sale of the fragments of the 

Colossus of Rhodes by an officer of, 500. 
Ox, superseded in Egypt by the buffalo, 250. 
Oxford of Old Egypt, the, 219. 
Ox-ford, the, 535. 

Padua, conquered by Venice, 158. 

Paganism, Mohammed's hatred of, 323; 
among Christians, 325. 

Pagus, Mount, 505, 508. 

Painting, differences of critics, 45 ; influence 
of Florence on, 167 ; Italy's eminence in, 
202; renown of Ephesus for, 509. 

Paintings: in Madrid, 23; in the Escorial, 33; 
in Toledo cathedral, 35; Murillo's "Con- 
ception," and " St. Thomas Giving Alms," 
45; Murillo's " St. Anthony," 46; Cano's, 
58 ; Cabanerro's picture for the Senate 
Chamber at Madrid, 63 ; at Monte Carlo, 
140; "St. Ambrose," 150; " Theodosius," 
150; in Milan, 154; in Florence, 169-172; 
by St. Luke, 172 ; in Naples, 188, 189; from 
Pompeii, 196; in the Catacombs, 181, 182; 
in the tomb of Tih, 249, 250; in tombs of 
Bern-Hassan, 252 ; of arrival of Joseph's 
brethren in Egypt, 255 ; in the Temple of 
Denderah,267 ; in the Boolak Museum, 320; 
in Constantine's church at Bethlehem, 398. 

Palaces : of Genoa, 143, 144 ; of the Doges, 
Venice, 165; Vendramin Calergi, 166; of 
Florence, 169 ; of Said Pasha, 206 ; of 
Cairo, 215, 216 ; of Caiaphas, 417. 



Palatine Hill. 177. 
Palazzo Giustiniani, Venice, 165. 
Palazzo Rosso, the, 144. 
Palazzo Vecchio, the, 170. 
Palestine, harbors, 341 ; the best history of, 
341 ; roads, 345 ; agriculture, 345 ; boun- 
dary-stones in, 345; cactus-hedges, 345 
347 ; rural scenery, 345-349 ; olive-cul 
ture, 346, 347, 350 ; flora of, 346, 453 
fig-culture, 350 ; goats and sheep, 350 
mountains of, 352 ; Jewish conquest of 
352 ; confusion between books of travel in 
358 ; difficulties of pedestrianism in, 366 
climate, 366, 431 ; a Jewish pilgrimage in 
397 ; character of country, 398 ; Stanley on 
its traditions, 398; stables in, 398 ; the most 
imposing spectacle of human creation in, 
398; return of Jews to, 418; peculiar doctrine 
regarding the settlement of Christians in, 
422; marauders, 429; ruins, 429, 431 ; 
changeable features 431 ; slavery, 431; irri- 
gation, 431 ; polygamy, 433 ; dogs, 433, 443; 
the most authentic remnant of primitive 
worship in, 436 ; the prettiest small village 
in,-443 444 ; the dirtiest place in. 446 ; exit 
from, 472; the Mont Blanc of, 478; Ro- 
man road from Damascus to, 479. 
Palm Sunday, the Golden Gate on, 374. 
Palm-trees, 222, 226, 240, 243, 247, 251, 261, 

266, 279, 312-314, 348, 442. 
Palmyra, Indian commerce through, 158. 
Pan, ruins of temple of, near Banias, 473. 
Panathenaean games, scene of the, 519, 520. 
Paneas, 473. 

Panteon de los Infantes, Ei. 34. 
Pantheon, the, in the Escorial, 33, 34 ; of 

modern Italy, 170 ; of Rome, 177, 182. 
Panthers, in the Atlas Mountains, 135. 
Panza, Sancho. 10. 

Papyri, British Museum collection of, 319. 
Papyrus, 471. 
Papyrus rolls, 276. 

Paradise, the best earthly type of, 483 ; de- 
scribed in the Koran. 483 ; an earthly, 
489. 
Paris, airival at, 1 ; anniversary of the coup 
d'etat in, 1 ; gayety, 1 ; blue-blouses, 2 ; 
socialism, 2 ; the sans-culottes of, 2 ; con- 
sumption of Bordeaux wines, 2 ; resem- 
blance of Madrid to, 19 ; Madrid contrasted 
with, 29 ; bronze horses in, 165 ; charges 
against women of, igi ; stock-exchange, 211; 
Egyptian relics in, 248 ; situation, 275 ; obe- 
lisk from Luxor at, 277 ; Jerusalem com- 
pared with, 357 ; likened to Constantinople, 
547 ; the Exposition, 573. 
Parnassus, 528. 
Parnes, Mount, 524. 

Parthenon, compared with the Temple of 
Diana, 511 ; compared with the Propylaea, 
520 ; views from the, 521 ; remains in Lon- 
don, 521 ; the dead religion of the, 522 ; 
distant view of the, 528. 
Parthians, capture Jerusalem, 355. 
Partridges, on shores of the Dead Sea, 409. 
Pasajes, harbor of, 13. 

Pascbal lambs, Josephus's method of esti- 
mating population by the sale of, 357. 
Passion, an Italian characteristic, 200, 201. 
Passover, the, a relic of, 144 ; the first in the 
Promised Land. 413 ; among the Samaritans 
at Gerizim, 436; Samaritan celebrations of 
the Feast of the, 440. 
Patara, St. Paul's sailing from, 498. 



Index. 



603 



Patience, among Italians, 200 ; a monument 
of, 287. 

Patmos, the mystery and fascination of, 
501-503 ; likened to Gibraltar, 502 ; St. 
John's release from, 513. 

Patriarch of Jerusalem, visit to the, 419. 

Patriotism, Greek, 529. 

Pau, situation, climate, etc., 8 ; imprison- 
ment of Calvin at, 8 ; proud boast of, g. 

Paul, St., paintings of, in Florence, 171 ; 
stolen honors of, 178 ; journey to Rome, 
181 ; festival of, 186 ; tomb, 186 ; charges 
against the morals of the Roman world, 191; 
miracles wrought by, 203 : the chain where- 
with he was bound, 203 ; execution, 203 ; 
characterization of the Cretans, 206 ; on 
Jerusalem, 351 ; Epistle to the Hebrews, 
386 ; supposed scene of his conversion, 
479; relation to Damascus, 480; escape 
from Damascus, 488, 489; "Life and 
Epistles," quoted, 490; the terrible voy- 
age of, 498, 501 ; at Cyprus, 498 ; jour- 
ney from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 498 ; men- 
tion of Coos, 501 ; impeached by Demetrius, 
512; footsteps of, 512-514; supposed im- 
prisonment of, 513 ; Timothy's companion- 
ship with, 513 ; address at Miletus, 513 ; 
Epistles to the Corinthians and Ephesians, 
514; influence of Ephesus on, 514; in Athens, 
521, 522 ; the living spirit of, 521, 522 ; the 
Corinth of his time, 527; Epistle to the 
Thessalonians, 531. 

Paula, works and death of, 399. 

Pavia, view of, from Milan cathedral, 153. 

Pearls, ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Peas, the legend of the field of, 307. 

Peddlers, in Cairo, 210, 211.' 

Pedestrianism, difficulties of, in Palestine, 366. 

Pedro the Cruel, 49. 

Peking, the festivals of, 544. 

Pelagius, trial of, for heresy, 347. 

Pelicans, on the Nile, 244, 250; at Lake Huleh, 

47. 2 - 

Pellico, Silvio, imprisonment of, 165. 

Peloponnesian mountains, the, 528. 

Peloponnesus, the war of independence in the, 
516; geographical position, 524. 

Pendulum, discovery of its philosophy, 167. 

Penitent thief, the, alleged birthplace, 349 ; 
altar to, 394. 

Pentateuch, the, description of Rachel's tomb 
in, 397 ; the Samaritan Codex, 439, 440 ; 
Samaritan belief in, 440. 

Pepin, King, tomb of, 154. 

Pera, 536. 

Perfumes, trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

Pericles, the city of, 523. 

Persecution. Mohammed's views on, 323. 

Persia, Indian commerce through, 158 ; use 
of hasheesh in, 218 ; flight of Samaritans to, 
440 ; wars with Greece, 527. 

Persian religion, mixture of, in Mohammedan- 
ism, 323. 

Persians, sieges of Karnak by, 282 ; battle- 
fields in Egypt, 288 ; conquest of Jerusa- 
lem, 356 ; destroy the church of the tomb 
of the Virgin, 365 ; raids on the convent of 
Mar Saba, 403, 404 ; colonization of Cyprus, 
498 ; in Smyrna, 506 ; strife for Byzantium. 
536; in Constantinople, 547 ; stained-glass 
windows captured from, 550 ; at Robert 
College, 555. 

Perthusiers, on the approach to Constanti- 
nople, 532. 



Pesth, location, 572. 

Peter, St., description of the earth at time of 
the Flood, 158, 159 ; statue of, 169, 178 ; 
imprisonment, 181 ; tomb, 182, 186 ; re- 
buked for running away from Rome, 203 ; 
his visit to Joppa, 342 ; residence with 
Simon the Tanner, 342, 343 ; heals Eneas, 
347 ; sleeping-place of, 365 ; healing the 
lame man, 374 ; on the tomb of David, 417 ; 
the cock's warning to, 417; pays tribute- 
money, 468 ; the fishing of, 468 ; essays to 
walk on the water, 468 ; Christ's finding at 
Capernaum, 468 ; Christ's declaration to, 
475 ; at the Transfiguration, 476. 

Peter the Great, 348. 

Petrie, W. M. F., Egyptologist, 334, 335. 

Petros, a literal, 181. 

Phaleron, the bay of, 521. 

Pharaoh's cat, 270. 

Pharaoh's daughter, the finding of Moses by, 
214; discovery of Moses, 241. 

Pharos, site of, 207. 

Pharpar, River, 479, 480. 

Phidias, figure of, in Florence cathedral, 170 ; 
works of, 520 ; scene of his labors, 523 ; 
statue of Apollo by, 560. 

Philadelphia, situation of, 275 ; travelers 
from, at Tiberias, 462. 

Philadelphus, Ptolemy, commences the 
Temple of Isis, 30 ). 

Philse, 306-309 ; convent of Mar Saba con- 
trasted with, 400 

Philip. St., monuments and portraits of, 169 ; 
preaches in Samaria, 440. 

Philip of Macedon, siege of Byzantium by, 
536 ; founder of Philippopolis, 567. 

Philippopolis, 567, 568. 

Philip the Tetrarch, founds Csesarea Phil- 
ippi, 473. 

Philip II, builds the Escorial, 30; char- 
acter, 30, 33 ; Protestant occupation of his 
house, 72. 

Philip III, of Spain, statue of, 20. 

Philip V, king of Spain, no. 

Philistines, return the Ark of the Covenant, 
350 ; scene of David's defeat of the, 396 ; 
theft of the ark by, 435 ; Saul's last battle 
against, 443, 446. 

Phillips Andover Academy, the Principal of, 
205. See also Bancroft, C. F. P. 

Philosophers, the Forest of, 507. 

Philosophy, in Egypt, 207 ; differing systems 
of Mohammedan, 325 ; in Smyrna, 507 : 
renown of Ephesus for, 509 ; of ancient 
Greece and Rome, 530. 

Philostratus, description of Ephesus, 511. 

Phocis, distant view of, 528. 

Phoenicians, commerce with Seville, 43 ; ad- 
mixture in Spanish population, 66 ; found 
Cadiz, 52 ; influences in Spain, 52 ; ideas 
about Gibraltar, 109; at Gibraltar, 113; 
possession of Jaffa, 342 ; name for Dan, 472; 
a civilization at Banias older than, 473 ; 
founders of Beirut, 492 ; colonization of 
Cyprus. 498. 

Photographs, my collection of, 303 ; sale of, 
by clergymen, 439. 

Physician, hindrances to successful practice, 
317.1 3'8 ; a polyglot, 538. 

Physicians, of Egypt, 207; the father of all, 
500. 

Physiognomy, relation of blindness to, 189 ; 
relation of expression of character, 189, 190. 

Piano, a celebrated, 572. 



604 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Pic du Midi de Bigorre, 8. 

Pic du Midi d'Ossau, 8. 

Picture-galleries: Madrid, 23; Seville, 45; 
Florence, 167 ; Dresden, 186. 

Pierce, Edward L., at Beirut, 495. 

Pierce, Franklin, visit to Gibraltar, 105. 

Pigeons, an aristocratic breed of, 162. 

Pilate, Pontius, site of the judgment hall of, 
385 ; the Arch of, 385. 

Pilgrimages, in Spain, 68 ; claims of benefits 
from, 125 ; to Loretto, 203. 

Pilgrims, at Lourdes, 4, 7 ; at Betharram, 7; 
the scallop-shell sign of, 343 ; a famous road 
of, 346; to Jerusalem, 348; robbery of, 
350 ; tombs of, at Jerusalem, 361 ; on the Via 
Dolorosa, 385 ; custom regarding winding- 
sheets, 390 ; the footworn paths of, 410 : 
bands of, 413,414 ; Russian, 419 ; accommo- 
dations for, in the Greek monasteries in 
Syria, 419; to Mount Athos, 531, 532; to 
Joshua's tomb, 548. 

Pillars of Hercules, 81, 109, 112. 

Pindar, on the rising of Rhodes from beneath 
the sea, 500. 

Pine-tree, the northern, 314. 

Piraeus, the, 515; railway to Athens from, 
515 ; view from the Parthenon, 521 ; reduc- 
tion of journey from Messina to, 524 ; re- 
turn to, 531. 

Pirates, Algerine, 127, 128, 350. 

Pisa, geology of, 109. 

Pisgah, Mount, 405. 

Pius IX, recognizes the miracles at Lourdes, 4. 

Pizarro, embarkation from Seville, 49. 

Place de la Concorde, Paris, Luxor obelisk in, 
277. 

Place du Carrousel, Paris, bronze horses in, 
165., 

Plague, the, a Pope s method of checking, 185; 
at Naples, 192 ; at Jaffa, 344. 

Plagues, the generating center of, 507. 

Plane-tree, the largest in the world, 484. 

Plato, figure of, in Florence cathedra], 170; 
at Heliopolis, 219 ; scene of his teachings, 

Platte, River, compared with the Nile, 239. 

Plaza Major, Madrid, the, 20; auto-da-fe' in, 23. 

Pliny, geographical knowledge of. 45 ; de- 
scription of the eruption of Vesuvius, 196 ; 
the "Natural History" of, 269; records 
accident to stntue of Memnon, 297. 

Plow, the old-fashioned, of Scripture, 348. 

Plows, in Morocco, 99. 

Plum-trees, at Jaffa, 344. 

Pluto, painting of, in Florence, 171. 

Plymouth Brethren, in Italy, 204. 

Pneumonia, prevalence in Madrid, 19. 

Pnyx, the hill of the, 522. 

Po, River, 158. 

Poet, the first to write for money, 500. 

Poetry, influence of Florence on, 167 ; Italy's 
eminence in, 202 ; in Egypt, 207 ; study of, 
in Cairo, 326 ; of ancient Greece and Rome, 
530. 

Poets, a paradise for, 475. 

Point of Quails, the, 548. 

Poisoned weapons, 305. 

Poland, emigration of Jews to Tiberias from, 
4?5- . 

Police, in Spain, 70. 

Polish synagogue at Jerusalem, 418. 

Politeness, Spanish, 67 ; in Tangier, 86 ; in 
Italy, 200. 

Politics, position of Naples in, 191. 



Polo, Marco, statue at Milan, 154. 

Polycarp, St., the martyrdom of, 508 ; tomb, 
5°8. 

Polytechnic Institute, Athens, 522. 

Polytheism, Mohammed's hatred of, 323. 

Pompeii, remains of, 189, 190, 196-199 ; de- 
struction, 195, 197-199; commerce, 197; 
loss of life at, 197; likeness to Moorish 
towns, 197, iq8 ; excavations at, 197-199; 
compared with American cities regarding 
vice, 198; amphitheater at, 198; wickedness, 
198, 199; lesson of, 199; a lesson from, 319. 

Pompey, 509. 

Pompey's Pillar, 207. 

Pools : of Gihon, the, 358, 361, 417 ; of Siloam, 
the, 361, 362 ; of Solomon, the, 358, 361. 

Pope, attitude toward bullfights, 80 ; a virtual 
prisoner, 186. 

Population, how computed at Nijni Novgorod, 
357- 

Porcelain, factory in Seville, 44. 

Porch of Justice, Alhambra, 52. 

Pork-packers, the aristocracj' of, 571. 

Porta Judiciara, the, 386. 

Porter, Rev. John L., opinion on site of Cana 
of Galilee, 458. 

Port Said, distance from Suez to, 337 ; the 
town of, 338 ; departure from, 338. 

Portugal, bullfight in honor of the King of. 
79 ; blackmailed by Algiers, 127. 

Portuguese Jews in Tiberias, 465. 

Posilippo, Virgil's work on the, 192. 

Post, Dr. George F., work of, at Beirut, 495. 

Poti-pherah, priest of On, 219. 

Pottery, of Asyoot, 263. 

Prado, El, Madrid, 20. 

Prairies, difference between the Libyan 
desert and, 294. 

Praxiteles outdone, 150. 

Prayer, in Cairo, 212 ; Mohammedan obliga- 
tions of, 324; the Mohammedan call to, 550. 

Prayers, the Mohammedan idea of the rela- 
tive value of, 381. 

Preaching, the problem of earning a livelihood 
and, 451, 45 2 - 

Precipitation, Mounts of, 455. 

Precocious youth, a, 444, 445. 

Predestination, Mohammedan belief in, 323. 

Presbyterian Church of Scotland, mission in 
Tiberias, 465 ; Presbyterians, at Gibraltar, 
108 ; in Italy, 204. 

Prescott, William H., Spanish histories of. 10. 

Presidents, the private and public lives of, 
contrasted, 573. 

Press, the, freedom of, in Italy, 202 ; Turkish 
censorship of, 562-565. 

Pretorium, disputed site of, in Jerusalem, 385- 

Prickly pears, hedges of, at Sulem, 443. 

Pride, the national characteristic of Spain, 44. 

Priestcraft, in Bulgaria, 568. 

Priests, a paradise of, 10 ; persecutions by, 64; 
characteristics in Spain, 71 ; bearded, 129; 
in Cairo, 212; in Heliopolis, 219; a sup- 
posed trick of, 297 ; Coptic, 331 ; Armenian, 
419, 420, 549 ; in the Abyssinian Church, 
421 ; privileges of Maronite, 478 ; ignorance 
of Greek, 550. 

Prim, General, assassination of, 29. 

Prime Minister, fate of an unfaithful, 213. 

Primitive worship, the most authentic rem- 
nant of, in Palestine, 436. 

" Prince Abbas," the steamer, 241-243. 

" Principalities of the Danube, The," 571. 

Prion, Mount, 510, 513. 



Index. 



605 



Priscilla, at Ephesus, 512. 

Procida, island of, 188. 

Prodigal son, the food of the, 350; a paral- 
lel to the parable of the, 557. 

Promenade des Anglais, at Nice, 139. 

Promised Land, a synoptical table of, 282 ; 
the first passover in the, 413. See also 
Canaan; Israelites: Jews. 

Propaganda, the College of the, 182. 

Prophecies, peculiar doctrine based on the, 422. 

Prophets, Mohammedan belief in, 323 ; re- 
puted tombs of forty, 347 ; the source of 
their terrible figures, 361 ; the Mohammed- 
an, 553, 554. 

Propylaea, compared with the Parthenon, 520. 

Propylon, of Karnak, 279. 

Protection system, in Morocco, 98. 

Protective tariff, the inconveniences of a, 10. 

" Protector of the Father of the Faithful," 
the, 559. 

Protestant Church, miracles in, 8 ; vyorship in 
Madrid, 28, 29 ; activities in Spain, 71-73 ; 
work in Italy, 203, 204 ; indifference toward 
Jerusalem, 421, 422. 

Protestant College at Beirut, 466. 

Protestant colony, near Jaffa, 422. 

Protestant Episcopal Church, mission at Ti- 
berias, 466. 

Protestantism, the most hopeless work under- 
taken by, 466 ; jealousy of the Greek and 
Armenian Churches of, 555. 

Protestant missions, in Egypt, 332, 333 ; in 
Tiberias, 465, 466 ; in Damascus, 489 ; in 
Smyrna, 507. 

Protestants, Spanish charges of cruelty 
against, 79 ; scoffers among, 325 ; unbelief 
among, 325; in Presbyterian mission schools 
of Egypt, 332; a Mohammedan opinion of, 
333 ; at Nabulus, 438 ; in Nazareth, 453 ; 
status in Turkey, 560. 

" Providential" institutions, 28. 

Prussia, interest in the Suez Canal. 336 ; sup- 
ports Protestant bishopric atjerusalem, 421. 

'.' Psalms," quoted, 487. 

Psammitichus, experiment with the alleged 
sources of the Nile, 310. 

Ptolemy, geographical knowledge of, 45 ; fig- 
ure of, in Florence cathedral, 170; siege of 
Thebes, 282. 

Ptolemy XI, supposed foundation of Temple 
of Denderah under, 267. 

Ptolemy Lathyrus, sacks Thebes, 277 ; breaks 
the statue of Memnon, 297. 

Ptolemy Philadelphus, commences the Tem- 
ple of Isis. 309; Ephesus and, 509. 

Ptolemy Philopater, temple of, 288. 

Ptolemys, remains of the time of the, 320 ; 
capture of Jerusalem by the, 355. 

Puerta del Sol, Madrid, 20. 

Pumice-stone from Vesuvius, 197. 

Punch and Judy, in Venice, 166. 

Purgatory, the blessed works of the, 26. 27. 

Purple robe, the, 385. 

Pylons, at Karnak, 276. 

Pyramid, the False, 250. 

Pyramid of Maydoom, the, 250. 

Pyramids, the, 221-237 ; distant view of, 212 ; 
road from Cairo to, 221 ; impressions of, 
222 ; visit to the interior, 227, 228 ; baseball 
at, 228 ; their building, purpose, and histo- 
ry, 229-231 ; Mark Twain at the, 236, 237; 
ascent of, 237 ; visit to, a type of human 
life, 237 ; exploration of, 247 ; of Sakkara, 
248 ; the material of the, 302 ; good-bye to 



the land of, 338 ; contrasted with the con- 
vent of Mar Saba, 400 ; reasons for Egyp- 
tian, 538. 
Pyrenees, the, scenery of, 3, 8, n ; crossed 
by Vandals, 52. 

Quails, the Point of, 548. 

" Quaker City," the pilgrimage in the, 422. 

Quarries, near Jerusalem, 373. 

Quarrying, ingenious methods of, 306. 

Quebec, capture of, n ; likened to Jaffa, 341. 

Queen, a widowed, 166. 

Queen of Spain's Chair, 113, 114. 

Queen of the Adriatic, the, 158, 166. 

Queen's Chamber, the, in the Pyramid of 

Cheops, 227. 
Queen's Row, Gibraltar, 115. 
Quinces, at Jaffa, 344. 
Quirinal Hill, 177. 
Quixote, Don, 10, 25, 395. 

Rachel, death and tomb of, 397. 

Ra-Em-Ka, wooden statue of, 320. 

Rahman, Mohammed Abdel, 215, 221. 

Railroad, a mountain, 13. 

Railroads, up Vesuvius, 193. 

Rain, scarcity of, in Egypt, 336 ; purity of, 
409 ; experience in Palestine, 432. 

Rainbow, fate of scientific article on the, 562. 

Raising of the Cro^s, the Chapel of the, 394. 

Ramah, 370. 

Ramallah, 430. 

Rameses I, temple dedicated to, 284. 

Rameses II, statues of, 244, 277, 287, 319 ; 
coffin of the favorite son of, 248 ; splendid 
reign of, 276 ; work at Karnak, 277 ; poem, 
commemorating, 280 ; finishes Temple of 
Koornah, 284 ; temple of, 284 ; invasion of 
Syria, 284, 287 ; conquest of the world, 287; 
mummy of, 319 ; Egyptian art under, 322. 

Rameses III, last warrior king of Egypt, 
276 ; tomb, 292. 

" Rameses," the steamer, 316. 

Rameseum, the, 284-287. 

Ramleh, Tower of, 347; monasteries in, 348. 

Raphael, paintings at Madrid, 23 ; statue at 
Milan, 154 ; in Florence, 167 ; paintings by, 
in Florence, 171; tomb, 178; "Loggie, ' j86; 
"Madonna," 186; " Stanze," 186; "Trans- 
figuration," 186. 

Raphael, St., apparition of, 40 ; monument 
to, 40 ; Mohammedan archangel, 543. 

Rappili, 197. 

Rauba Capen, 139. 

Ravi, Signor, minister of Methodist church 
at Milan, 157. 

Rayah Greeks, in Smyrna, 506. 

Reha, the modern town of, 413; iniquities of, 
413. 

Rehoboam, scene of his division of the king- 
dom with Jeroboam, 438. 

Religion, allegorical figure on Columbus's 
statue, 143 ; influence of Rome on, 177 ; 
how awakened in Egypt, 240; rise and de- 
cay of Egyptian, 322; the charm of, 503. 

Religious conversation, a memorable, 553,554. 

Religious freedom, in Spain, 71; in Smyrna, 

5°7-. . , . 

Religious instruction, in Cairo, 326. 
Religious persecution, in Spain, 72. 
" Reliques of the Christ," quoted, 456, 457. 
Remittent fever, in Cyprus, 498. 
Renaissance, the center of the, 167. 
Renaud de Chatillon, defeated by Saladin,487. 



6o6 



Travels in Three Continents. 



" Researches and Discoveries in Cyprus," 499. 

Resurrection of Christ, site of the, 389. 

Resurrection of the body, Egyptian igno- 
rance of the, 231 ; Mohammedan belief in 
the, 323 ; tradition concerning the, 362. 

Reuben, territory of, 370. 

Revelation, Mohammedan belief in written, 
323 ; claim of direct, in American colony in 
Jerusalem, 425. 

Revelation of St. John, quoted, 442; scene 
of the, 501, 502. 

Reverence, lack of, among Copts, 331 ; a nat- 
ural feeling of, 366. See also Irreverence. 

Revivalists, sale of photographs of, 439. 

Rey, General, defense of San Sebastian, 11. 

Rhetoric, in Cairo, 326; in Smyrna, 507. 

Rheumatism, hot-bath cure at Tiberias, 461. 

Rhine, River, 310, 370; robbers of, 350, 441. 

Rhodes, 499, 500 ; sea-born tradition of, 500. 

Rhone, River, junction with the Saone, 239. 

Rice, served in oriental style, 301. 

Richard I, exploits against Saladin, 487; 
conquest of Cyprus by, 49S. 

Richard III, 49. 

Riggs, Dr. Elias, translator of the Bible into 
Bulgarian, 568. 

Rings, ancient Egyptian, 320, 321. 

Riots, among Cairo students, 326. 

Riviera, the French, 137-142 ; the Italian, 143. 

Riwaks, 325. 

Rizpah, the unparalleled vigil of, 429. 

Robbers, a stronghold of, near Jenin, 441. 

Robbers' Glen, the, 432. 

Robbers' Spring, the, 432. 

Robbery, in Spain, 70; in Egypt, 311,312; 
in camp, 473, 474. 

Robert, Christopher R., founder of Robert 
College, 554. 

Robert College, 538, 539, 554. 

Rob'nson, Prof. Edward, on the site of Ari- 
mathea, 347 ; identifies Kirjath-jearim, 
350 ; explorations of, 362 ; on the site of 
Golgotha, 380; swimming in the Dead Sea, 
406; on the site of Cana, 458. 

Rock, Dome of the, 378, 381 ; Peter the, 475. 

Rock tombs, permanency, in Syria, 396, 397. 

Rocky Mountains, experiences in the, com- 
pared with Palestine, 432. 

Roda, island of, 214; sugar-factory at, 257, 258. 

Roderick, slain by the Saracens, 55. 

Rogers, Samuel, fondness for Naples, 187 ; 
tribute to Memory, 503. 

Romaic language, in Smyrna, 506. 

Roman architecture, compared with Moorish, 

5 1 - 

Roman baths, in Buda-Pesth, 572. 

Roman Catholic Church, the, miracles in, 8 ; 
a beneficent aspect of, 44 ; in Spain, 71, 72 ; 
attitude toward bullfights, 80 ; at Gibral- 
tar, 108 ; condition in Algiers, 122 ; diplo- 
macy, 129 ; bearded priests, 129 ; strength, 
182 ; influence in Italy, 204 ; claim for the 
Virgin's Tree, 219 ; renegades in the, 325 ; 
in Egypt, 332, 333 ; compared with the 
Greek Church, 333 ; in Jerusalem, 421 ; 
claim regarding the house of the Virgin, 
454 ; relations of the Maronites with, 478 ; 
France the guardian of, 491 ; mission work 
in Syria, 495. 

Roman Catholics, in Presbyterian mission 
schools of Egypt, 332 ; their appellation in 
the East, 394; in Smyrna, 507; in Con- 
stantinople, 547. 

Roman civilization, lights on ancient, 189. 



Roman domestic life, ancient, 199. 

Roman mythology, compared wiih Egyptian, 
320. 

Roman remains, at Malaga, 65; at Asyoot, 264. 

Romans, struggle with Visigoths, 52; admix- 
ture in Spanish population, 66 ; limitations 
of their explorations, 109 ; at Gibraltar, 
113; occupation of Naples, 191; battle- 
fields of, in Egypt,_ 288 ; wars with Samari- 
tans, 440 ; road built by, from Damascus to 
Palestine and Egypt, 479; colonization of 
Cyprus, 498 ; massacre of, ordered by Mith- 
ridates, 501. 

Rome, influence in Seville, 43; compared to 
Ceuta, 81; art of, 167; the Encyclopedic 
City, 174-186 ; Nero and the burning of, 
177; influence of, 181; the Angel of, 186; 
New, 186 ; a riot in, 201 ; the Pyramids old- 
er than, 228 ; catacombs, 228 ; difference be- 
tween Jerusalem and, 355 ; triumphal arch 
of Titus in, 355 ; recaptures Jerusalem, 355 ; 
St. Jerome's pilgrimage to Syria from, 399 ; 
the depositary of the holy manger in, 399; 
Maronite College in, 478 ; possession of 
Samos by, 503; martyrdom of St. Ignatius 
in, 508 ; relics of, at Corinth, 527 ; destroys 
Corinth, 527; secret of her ancient gloiy, 
530; Constantinople a rival to, 532; similar- 
ity between Stamboul and, 536 ; acquisi- 
tion of Constantinople, 536; threatened at- 
tack of Gauls on, 560. 

Rosaries, from the Garden of Gethsemrne, 
365; manufacture of, at Bethlehem, 397. 

Rose of Sharon, the, 346. 

Roses, the venders of, in Cairo, 211 ; in Janu- 
ary, 216; of Damascus, 490. 

Rosetta Stone, copy of inscription on the, 309. 

Rothschilds, benefactions, in Jerusalem, 418. 

Roumelia, status under the Treaty of Berlin, 
567, 568. . 

Roumeli Hissar, 554. 

Route en Roi, the, 29. 

Rovigo, conquered by Venice, 158. 

Royal Geographical Society, Thompson's re- 
port to, 94, 97. 

Rozinante, 395. 

Rubens, paintings by, in Florence, 171. 

Rudolph, suicide of the Archduke, 573. 

Rufus, Q. F., award by, 144. 

Rugs, Smyrna, 505, 506. 

Ruins, how to estimate the size of, 280. 

Russia, consumption of Bordeaux wines, 2 ; 
a problem, 10; foundling asylums in, 69; 
belief in, regarding lunatics, 125 ; naval ac- 
tion at Navarino, 205 ; catacombs in, 228 ; 
Czar of, 236, 544 ; difference between the 
Libyan desert and the steppes of, 294 ; the 
patron of the convent of Mar Saba, 403 ; 
supports the R.usso-Greek Church in Sy- 
ria, 419 ; attacks Constantinople, 536; Ar- 
menian churches in, 549 ;_corn-trade of, 549; 
magnificence of, 557 ; attitude toward Prot- 
estants, 560 ; censorship of the press in, 562. 

Russian Church, musical services of, 420, 449. 

Russian convent on Mount Tabor, 449, 450. 

Russian Jews in Tiberias, 465. 

Russian National Church, relations with 
Orthodox Greek Church, 348. 

Russian pilgrims, 414. 

Russians, tower on the Mount of Olives, 370 ; 
at Robert College, 555. 

Russo-Greek Church, in Syria, 419. 

Ruth, scene of the story of, 397 ; how her 
story is viewed in Turkey, 562. 



Index. 



607 



Sabbath-breakers, a paradise of, 43. 

Sabbath-breaking, 62 ; in Spain, 74, 79, 80 ; 
Marseilles, 137, 138 ; Venice, 162, 166. 

Sabbath rest on the shores of Galilee, 461, 
462, 465, 466. 

Sabbath-schools, in Egypt, 333. 

" Sable Venuses," 306. 

Saco River, the Jordan likened to the, 467. 

Sacred cows, in Asyoot, 262. 

Sacrilege, an English idea of, 208. 

"Sacrilegious Plunder, the Depository of the 
Results of," 209. 

Sacro Catino, the, 144. 

Saddlers' Bazaar, Damascus, the, 483, 484. 

Safed, 466. 

Sagasta, Praxedes M ., political fortunes of, 25. 

Sah, tomb of governor of province of, 252. 

Sahara, Desert of, 120, 293. 

Said Pasha, ruined palace of, 206 ; grants fir- 
man of concession to Lesseps, 336. 

Sailors, funeral services for, 126 ; immoral 
influence of, 338. 

St. Andrea, birthplace of Columbus, 143. 

St. Anne, church of, at Jerusalem, 366, 3S2. 

St. Bartholomew, massacre of, 9. 

St. Bernard, the Great, view of from Milan 
Cathedral, 153. 

St. Elias, Mount, 205. 

St. Elmo, hills of, 192. 

St. George's Hall, Gibraltar, 112. 

St. John Lateran, church of, 385. 

St. Lawrence, rapids of, compared with the 
First Cataract, 309. 

St. Lazarus, church of, at Lanarca, 498. 

St. Longinus, Chapel of, 394. 

St. Martin, Cape, 9. 

St. Michael, convent of, 419. 

St. Nicholas, convent of. 419. 

St. Paul's Cathedral, how to view, 370. 

St. Paul Without the Walls, Rome, 186; a 
venerated chain at, 203. 

St. Peter's church, Rome, compared with 
cathedral of Seville, 46 ; compared with 
cathedral of Milan, 149 ; the dome of, 169 ; 
a bewildering melange in, 182 ; inscription 
in, 475 ; compared with Santa Sophia, 543. 

St. Petersburg, Wouverman's paintings at, 23 ; 

- situation, 275 ; saving in distance to Bom- 
bay from, via Suez Canal, 338. 

St. Philip, cathedral of, Algiers, 122. 

St. Polycarp, the church of, 508. 

St. Quentin, battle of, 30. 

St. Raphael, Napoleon's embarkation for 
Elba from, 138. 

Saints, tombs in Algeria, 128. 

Saints — or — sinners ? 182. 

St. Spiridon, convent of, 419. 

St. Stephen, church of, at Philae, 309. 

St. Theodore, convent of, 419. 

St. Vitus's dance, equine, 395. 

Sais, Minerva's treasury at, 310. 

Sakeeyeh, the, 274. 

Sakkara, the cemetery of, 247-250 ; tombs at, 
252 ; Tomb of the Bulls at, 319 ; wooden 
statue from, 320. 

Saladin, capture of Jerusalem by, 356, 487 ; 
victory of, at Horns of Hattin, 461 ; feats 
and character of, 487. See also Crusad- 
ers ; Saracens. 

Salaheddin, builder of citadel of Cairo, 212. 

Salahiyeh, Mohammedan legends about, 489. 

Salamanca, the bull-ring of, 74 ; decay of the 
University of, 74. 

Salamis, 515, 521, 524, 528. • 



Salmond, Prof., on the Seven Churches in 
Asia, 508. 

Salonica, city and gulf of, 531. 

Salt, in Morocco, 89, 90; the supply of Jeru- 
salem, 406 ; of the Dead Sea, 406, 409 ; pil- 
lars of, 409 ; incrustations on the plains of 
Jordan, 410. 

Salt Lake City, visit to, 324. 

Samaria, view of, from Ramleh, 347 ; moun- 
tains of, 347, 435, 442 ; road from Jerusalem 
to, 374; the woman of, 436,438; Hosea',- 
prophecy concerning, 440 ; apostolic histoif 
of, 440 , hill of, 440 ; rivalry between Naza 
reth and, 440 ; gardens of, 441 ; boundary 
between Galilee and, 441 ; fig-culture, 442. 

Samaritan, traditional scene of the parable of 
the Good, 314. 

Samaritan Codex of the Pentateuch, 439,440. 

Samaritans, agree as to the site of Jacob's 
Well, 435 ; Feast of the Passover among, at 
Gerizim, 436 ; dwelling-place of, 438 ; the 
sacred place of the, 438 ; physical charac- 
teristics, 438, 439 ; numbers, 438, 440 ; clean- 
liness, 439 ; hatred of the Jews, 440 ; wars 
of, 440; religious beliefs, 440. 

Samos, 502, 503. 

Samothracia, 532. 

Samson, portraits of, in Florence, 171. 

Samuel, supposed tomb of the prophet, 350; 
birthplace, 370 ; burial-place of, 370 ; loca- 
tion of Rachel's tomb according to, 397; 
mission to Bethlehem, 397, 39S ; Hannah's 
visits to, 434. 

" Samuel," quoted, 480. 

San Ambrogio, church of, at Milan, 154. 

San Angelo^ Monte, 188. 

San Antonio River, analogy between the 
Jordan and the, 474. 

San Carlo Borromeo, relics of, 150. 

Sancho Panza, 10. 

Sand, preservative influence of, 231 ; obscura- 
tion of the Sphinx by, 232. 

Sandal, the Holy Virgin's, 26-28. 

Sandstorm, an Egyptian, 335. 

Sandwich Islands, leprosy in the, 426. 

Sanhedrim, conventions of, in Tiberias, 465. 

Sanity, the borderland between mental aber- 
ration and, 425. 

San Jose, the estate of, 64, 65. 

San Juan de Dios, lunatic and saint, 58. 

San Lorenzo, military influence of, 30 ; cathe- 
dral of Genoa, 144. 

San Marco, church and piazza of, Venice, 162. 

San Pedro River, analogy between the Jor- 
dan and the, 474. 

San Roque, 114. 

San Sebastian, situation, n; bull-ring of, n; 
British siege and capture of, n ; a water- 
ing-place, 12; American Board schools at, 12. 

Santa Croce, church of, Florence, 170; the 
letters I H S on, 172. 

Santa Sophia, mosque of, 536, 540-543; in- 
terior, 543 ; compared with St. Peter's, 
Rome, 543 ; a rival of, 550. 

Saone, River, junction with the Rhone, 239. 

Saracens, conquests of, 55; occupation of 
Monte Carlo, 140 ; remains at Assouan, 305. 

Sarcophagi, in British Museum, 236 ; in 
Boolak Museum, 320. 

Sardinia, boundary between France and, 139. 

Saronic Gulf, the, 524, 528. 

Satan, a much-needed statue of, 141 ; the 
synagogue of, 507. 

Satyrs, paintings of, in Florence, 171. 



6o8 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Saul, birthplace of, 370; scene of his corona- 
tion, 413 ; hanging of the seven sons of, 
429 ; last battle and suicide, 443; consulta- 
tion with the Witch of Endor, 446 ; Turkish 
views of David's playing before, 563. 

Saul of Tarsus. See Paul. 

Save River, union with the Danube, 571. 

Savonarola, Jerome, statue at Milan, 154; 
cells of, 170; site of his burning, 170. 

Scallop-shells, at Jaffa, 343. 

Scammony, trade in, in Smyrna, 505. 

Scandal, in Jerusalem, 422. 

Scarabaei, sale of, 278. 

Scarabceus, the, 322. 

Sceva, the sons of, 512. 

Schaffhausen, the Rhine at, 310. 

Schaus, Mr., Murillo canvas offered to, 46. 

Schlieman,Dr.H., residence at Athens,334, 522. 

Scholarship, the foundation of, 146. 

Schuylkill, the river, 275. 

Science, unknown in Morocco, 99; position 
of Naples in, 187. 

Scio, landing at, 503. 

Scipio, 509. 

Scipios, tomb of the, 177. 

Scopus, the hill, 370. 

" Scorpions" of Gibraltar, 106. 

Scotland, represented on Mars' Hill, 521. 

Scotland, Rev. Mr., fellow-traveler, 241. 

Scourging, Chapel of the, 382, 385 ; Column 
of the, 385. 

Scribe, mummy of a priestly, 320. 

Sculpture, influence of Florence on, 167 ; in 
Florence cathedral, 169 ; Burckhardt on 
Grecian, 189 ; in the National Museum, 
Naples, 189 ; Italy's eminence in, 202; in 
catacombs at Asyoot, 264; at Thebes, 276; 
at Temple of Koornah, 284 ; at the Rame- 
seum, 284, 287 ; in Belzoni's tomb, 291; at 
Esneh, 316; renown of Ephesus for, 509 ; 
the home of Phidias, 523 ; of ancient 
Greece and Rome, 530. 

Scutari, 536, 556. 

Scythians, use of hasheesh by, 218. 

Sea, funeral services over the, 126. 

Sea of Azov, relative freshness of, 409. 

Sea of Galilee, the, 461-471 ; Lynch's ex- 
plorations from the, 406 ; first glimpse of, 
449 ; a Sabbath rest on the shores of, 461 ; 
compared with the lakes of Switzerland and 
Italy, 462; in the time of Christ, 467; 
boats on, 467, 468 ; a never-to-be-forgotten 
scene on, 467, 468; Christ's sleeping on, 468 ; 
marauding Bedouins on, 468 ; a backward 
view of, 471 ; climate around, 471; the Gos- 
pels as a guide-book to the shores of, 471. 

Seasickness, 81, 338, 515, 548. 

Second Cataract, the, movement of English 
troops to, 263; impossibility of reaching, 314. 

Sects, in the University of Cairo, 325 ; con- 
tending Mohammedan, 325 ; the warfare 
of, in Egypt, 330 ; in Smyrna, 507. 

Seilun, 434,435. 

Seine, the river, 275, 547. 

Selim, dragoman, 428, 431-434, 439, 450, 451, 
491. 

Selim, Sultan, abdication and death of, 558. 

Semsars, 98. 

Senado, the, of Spain, 24. 

Seneca, birthplace, 36 ; statue in Naples, 
189 ; on relations of crocodiles and the Ten- 
tyrites, 269, 270 ; on the First Cataract, 310. 

" Senegal," the steamer, 338, 341. 

" Senor," use of the title, 67. 



Sephardim, the sect of the, 465. 

Sephela, 43. 

Sepoys, service in Egypt, 268. 

Septuagint, made at Alexandria, 207. 

Sepulcher, the Holy. See Holy Sepulcher. 

Seraglio, of Constantinople, the, 539 ; resem- 
blance to the Alhambra, 539. 

Serapeum, the, 232, 247, 248. 

Seraphim, six-winged, 543. 

Sermon on the Mount, the scene of the, 461. 

Serpents, emblematical, 291 ; the Column of 
the Three, 560. 

Servia, through, 568, 569; the capital of, 571: 
status under the Treaty of Berlin, 571 ; 
trade in hogs, 571 ; parallel between Cin- 
cinnati and, 571. 

Servian language, in Smj'rna, 506. 

Servians, at Robert College, 555 ; struggle 
for self-government, 571. 

Servius Tullius, 174. 

Sesame, 440. 

Sethi I, work at Thebes, 276 ; tomb, 276, 
291 ; pictorial remains of, 280 ; builds 
Temple of Koornah, 284 ; mummy of, 319. 

" Seven Churches of Asia," the, 508. 

Seven Hills of Rome, 177. 

Seven Mountains, the, 112. 

Seven Sleepers, legend of the, 513. 

Seventh Commandment, in Spain, 69. 

Seven Towers, 560, 561. 

Seven wonders of the world, the, 207 ; one of 
the, 499, 500. 

Sevilla, 43. 

Seville, beggars, 43, 44 ; Phoenician commerce 
with, 43 ; history, situation, characteristics, 
etc., 43-49 ; decay of, 49 ; English influ- 
ence in, 49 ; the alma mater of the bull- 
ring, 77 ; Columbus relics in, 143 ; com- 
pared with Naples, igi. 

Shadoof, the, 273, 274, 312. 

Shafut, 429. 

Shakers, colony c e practical in Jerusalem, 425. 

Shakespeare, quoted, 480. 

Shaloof, the heights of, 337. 

Shame, the outpost of morals, 190. 

Sharon, the plain of, 345, 347, 349, 350; the 
rose of, 346. 

Sheba, Queen of, a gift to Solomon from, 144. 

Shechem, former capital of the Jews, 355 ; 
the sacred place of, 436 ; ancient, 438 ; 
former owners of, 438 ; Abraham at, 438 ; 
scene of Jeroboam's and Rehoboam's divi- 
sion of the kingdom, 438 ; captured by 
Simeon and Levi, 438 ; seat of Jeroboam's 
government, 438. 

Sheep, ancient rights concerning, 149 ; at 
Farshoot, 266 ; at Jaffa, 343 ; in Palestine, 

,35°- 
Sheik, the office of a, 225, 257, 325, 326. 
Shepherds, altar to the, at Bethlehem, 399 ; 

the Grotto of the, 400. 
Sherbet, Egyptian, 334, 421, 553. 
Sherifs, 212. 

Sheshouan, perils in, 97. 
Shiloah, Isaiah's description of the waters of, 

361. 
Shiloh, site of, 434, 435. 
Shimiju, River, 238. 
Shipbuilding, in Egypt, 240. 
Ship of the desert, the, 225. See also Camels. 
Shrines, Mohammedan, 348. 
Shtora, 492. 

Shunammite woman, the home of the, 443. 
Shunem, 443, 444. 



Index. 



609 



Sichar, Sichem, 438. 

Sicily, disputed sovereignty of, no ; Samian 

colony in, 503. 
Sidi Abd-er-Rahman-eth-Thalebi, tomb of, 

125- 

Sidi Naaraan, tomb of, 128. 

Sidon, masons and carpenters of, 342. 

Sierra Guadarrama, the, 19. 

Sierra Nevada, the, 50, 112 ; experiences in, 
compared with Palestine, 432. 

Siesta, the, in Cairo, 212. 

Signs, belief in, in Italy, 200. 

Silas, St. Paul's wait for, 521. 

Silence, a country of, 274 ; depressing effect of, 
274 ; Hood on, 311 ; in a Turkish crowd, 549. 

Silk-culture, 146. 

Siloam, the brook and pool of, 361, 362. 

Silvela, Francisco, oratory of, 25, 26 ; demon- 
strations against, 26. 

Silvio Pellico, imprisonment of, 165. 

Silwan, road from Jerusalem to, 374. 

Simeon, the alleged house of, 396 ; capture 
of Shechem by Levi and, 438. 

Simonides, the birthplace of, 500. 

Simon the Cyrenian, bearing the cross, 386. 

Simon the leper, house of, 414. 

Simon the tanner, St. Peter's residence with, 

342* 343- . . 

Simplon route, termination of the, 154. 

" Sinai and Palestine," 287. 

Singing, the finest in Rome, 1S6. 

Sinjil, camp at, 432, 433. 

Sinners — or — saints? 182. 

Sioot, Si-66t, Sioout, Siout. See Asyoot. 

Sirius, worship of, in Egypt, 267. 

Sisera, the overthrow of, 445, 446. 

Sisters of Charity, in Constantinople, 547. 

Sistine Chapel, the, 186. 

Sii'tt. See Asyoot. 

Skepticism, among Mohammedans, 325. 

Skull, the place of a, 386. 

Slander, 190. 

Slavery, in Morocco, 91 ; Algerine, 127, 128 ; 
in Palestine, 431 ; in Turkey, 561. 

Slaves, rise of a body of Turkish, 559. 

Slave trade, 91. 

Slavonians, in Smyrna, 506. 

Sleepers, the Seven, 513. 

Slivno, 567. 

" Smith, Antiquity," 278. 

Smith, Dr. Eli, connection with the Ameri- 
can Mission in Syria, 495. 

Smoking, in Spain, 68 ; the tobacco-pipes of 
Cairo, 211. See also Hasheesh ; Opium ; 
Tobacco. 

Smugglers, in Gibraltar, 107. 

Smyrna, arrival at, 504 ; mosquitoes, 504 ; 
hotels, 504 ; a babel in, 504-506 ; scenery, 
504, 505 ; donkeys, 505 ; trade, 505, 506 ; 
population of, 506, 509 ; history, 506-509 ; 
riches, 507 ; Christ's praise of the church in, 
507 ; preeminent interest of Christians in, 
507 ; climate, 507 ; tribulation of, 507, 508 ; 
earthquake, 508 ; ruined amphitheater, 508; 
martyrdom of St. Polycarp, 508 ; " the an- 
gel of the church at," 508 ; importance, 
508, 509 ; distance from Ephesus, 509 ; sale 
of rings and talismans at, 513 ; return from 
Ephesus to, 515 ; Armenian churches in, 
549 ; Gulf of, 504, 505. 

Smyth, Dr. Piazzi, on the Pyramid of Cheops, 
230. 

Snake-charmers, 89. 

Snipe, on the shores of the Dead Sea, 409. 



Snuff, use of, by Jews in Jerusalem, 418. 

Soap, manufacture of, in Nabulus, 438. 

Socialism, in Paris, 2. 

Social ostracism in Spain, 72. 

Society of Friends, represented on Mars' Hill, 
521. 

Socin, Prof., on Mohammedan manners and 
customs, 324. 

Socrates, statue of, in Naples, 189; death, 512. 

Sodom, popular beliefs concerning the de- 
struction of, 405, 410. 

Sofia, 568 ; convention of Protestant mission- 
workers at, 568. 

Soldiers, English and Spanish contrasted, 114. 

Solomon, his commerce with Tarshish, 108 
gifts from the Queen of Sheba to, 144, 219 
transactions with Hiram, King of Tyre, 342 
site of his coronation, 358 ; idolatry of, 361 
building of the Temple by, 373 ; alleged 
praying-spot of, 381. 

Solomon's Porch, 377. 

Solomon's Stables, 381, 382. 

Solomon's Temple, building of, 342 ; sup- 
posed site of, 377 ; Omar visits the site of, 
378 ; desecration of its site by Christians, 
378 ; columns from, in church at Bethlehem, 

398, 399- 

Solon, at Heliopolis, 219; in Cyprus, 498. 

" Song of Solomon," quoted, 346. 

Sooadee, village of, 251. 

Sophocles, works of, 520 ; the home of, 523. 

Sothis, the worship of, in Egypt, 267. 

Soubirous, Bernadette, visions of, 4-8. 

Soudan, the, commerce, 90 ; English military 
movements against, 263 ; trade with Asyoot, 
263; invaded by Amenophis III, 276; 
effects of war, 305 ; graves of British soldiers 
from, 306; fanatical devotion in, 325; der- 
vishes from, 329; slave trade, 431. 

Soudanese, 303. 

Soul, Egyptian belief in the immortality of 
the, 231; Egyptian idea of the voyage of 
the, 291. 

Soult, Marshal, capture of Seville, 46. 

Sound, two kinds of, 299. 

South America, British area and population, 
115. 

Southern Cross, the, 315, 316. 

Sow, the worship of a white, 219. 

Spain, boundary between France and, g ; the 
mother of America, 10 ; aspects and associa- 
tions of, 10; Irving's histories of, 10; her 
Quixotic people, 10; the Queen of, 12; the 
King of, 12, 20 ; the Red Republic in, 20 
monarchy in, 20 ; troops, 20, 21 ; ministe 
rial crisis, 24 ; form of government, 24-26 
Presbyterianism, 28 ; peculiarities of cathe> 
drals, 35, 46 ; first Roman colony in, 36 
tobacco monopoly in, 43; Phoenician com- 
merce with, 43 ; national characteristic of, 
44; early history, 52 ; irruption of Visigoths 
into, 52 ; settlement of Vandals in, 52 ; con- 
solidation, 55 ; Saracen invasion, 55 ; Mus- 
sulman conquest, 55 ; expulsion of the 
Moors, 56 ; prevalence of blindness, 62 ; 
railroad-building, 64 ; sugar-planting, 64 ; 
climate, 66 ; peculiarities of the people, 66- 
73 (see also Spaniards); amusements in, 
68; English influence, 69; foundling-asy- 
lums, 69; priests, 71 ; religious freedom, 71 ; 
the confessional, 71; Protestant activities, 
71-73 ; social ostracism in, 72 ; religious per- 
secution, 72 ; Sabbath-breaking in, 74, 79, 
80 ; bullfights, 74-80; the "Botany Bay" 



6io 



Travels in Three Continents. 



of, 81 ; the Moor's key to, 81 ; the most im- 
piessive thing in, 99, ioo ; capture of Gibral- 
tar by, no; war of the Succession, no; 
blackmailed by Algiers, 127 ; interest in 
the Suez Canal, 336; Jonah's voyage to, 
342 ; flora, 346. 

Spangled ornaments, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Spaniards, gayety of, 13, 20 ; horsemanship 
of, 29; influence on Toledo, 34 ; peculiari- 
ties of, 66-73 ; distinction between the in- 
dividual and the corporate capacity, 69; at 
Gibraltar, 113; occupation of Naples, 191; 
compared with Italians, 200. 

Spanish, the purest, 34. 

Spanish Jews, 465. 

S parta, possession of Samos by, 503. 

Spanans, strife for Byzantium, 536. 

Sphinx, the, 231-235; baseball before the, 228 ; 
compared with the Old Man of the Moun- 
tain, 235. 

Sphinxes, discover}' by Mariette Bey, 248 ; an 
avenue of, 248, 279, 280, 319 ; in the Boolak 
Museum, 319. 

Spices, trade in, at Asyoot, 263. 

Spinning dervishes, the, 326, 553. 

Spirito, convent of, 419. 

Spofford, Mr., leader of American colony at 
Jerusalem, 425. 

Sponge-fishing at Symi, 500. 

Sponges, trade in, in Smyrna, 506. 

Sprague, Horatio J., U. S. Consul at Gibral- 
tar, 105. 

Spring, a wonderful, 214. 

Spurgeon, Rev. Charles H., liking for Mentone, 
142 ; satire on genealogy, 172, 173. 

Ssout. See Asyoot. 

Stables, usual position in Palestine, 398. 

Stables of Solomon, the, 381, 382. 

Stadium, at Athens, 519, 520 ; of Ephesus, 
the, 510. 

Stamboul, 536, 537, 539, 556. 

Stanley, Dean A. P., on the Sphinx, 235 ; on 
the site of Thebes, 275 ; on the statue of 
Rameses II, 287 ; opinion concerning the 
house of Simon the tanner, 343 ; on Syrian 
tombs and wells, 396, 397 ; on the tradition 
of Bethlehem, 398 ; scale of fresh waters, 
409; on the site of Jacob's Well, 435 ; on 
the scene of Abraham's sacrifice, 436 ; on 
the scene of the encounter between Abra- 
ham and Melchizedek, 436 ; on the situa- 
tion of Nazareth, 453 ; on the miraculous 
removal of the Virgin's house to Loretto, 
454- 

Stanley, Henry M., discovery of the sources 
of the Nile, 311. 

" Stanze," Raphael's, 186. 

Star in the East, the spot where it was seen, 
397- 

Stars, Galileo's teaching, 167. 

Statues: of Amenophis 276, 279; Amen-ra, 
284 ; Apollo, at Constantinople, 560 ; Christ, 
at Rome, 203; the Colossi of Egypt, 294- 
297: of Greek philosophers in Egypt, 
248; Memnon, 297; archangel Michael, 
171; Napoleon I, 150; Nero, 287; Ra- 
Em-Ka, 320; Rameses II, 277, 287; St. 
Bartholomew, 150 ; St. Peter, at Rome, 
182 ; Taharka, 321 ; in the Boolak Museum, 
319-321 ; in Florence, 167, 169, 171, 172 ; at 
Milan, 150, 154 ; at Monte Carlo, 140 ; in 
the National Museum, Naples, 189, 190 ; 
from Pompeii, 196; in Rome, 177, 17S ; in 
Venice, 165 ; manufacture of, at Assouan, 



302 ; the material of ancient Egyptian, 306 ; 
profane use of, 520. 

Steam, its influence at Gibraltar, 114. 

Steamships, contrasted passages of , 1 ; on the 
Nile, 241 ; drive away crocodiles, 273. 

Stelae, sale of, 278. 

Stephanos, Father, 419, 497. 

Stephen, the persecution of, 498. 

Stephenson, George, builder of railroad from 
Alexandria to Cairo, 209. 

Step Pyramid, the, 247, 248. 

Stockholm, the Venice of the North, 161, 162. 

Stolen property, recovering in Egypt, 312. 

Stone of Anointment, the, 390. 

Stone of Welfare, the, 250. 

Stone peas, 397. 

Storks, on the Nile, 250 ; in the plain of Es- 
draelon, 442 ; in Asia Minor, 510. 

Storms, on our departure from- Jerusalem, 
429, 432, 433. 

Story-tellers, 89. 

Strabo, mention of Egyptian antiquities, 248; 
record of Thebes, 277 ; on the statue of 
Memnon, 297. 

Straight, the street called, 488. 

Straus, Oscar, U. S. Minister to Turkey, 550. 

Street, George E., on Toledo cathedral, 35. 

Strength, allegorical figure on Columbus's 
statue, 143 ; feats of agility and, 236, 329. 

Strobel, E. H., U. S. Minister at Madrid, 24. 

Styx, origin of the fable concerning Charon 
and the, 252. 

Sublime Porte, the, 540. 

Sue, Eugene, outdone, 282. 

Suez, proposed railroad to Cairo from, 209; 
distance from Port Said, 337 ; Plain of, 337. 

Suez Canal, the, 209, 215, 221, 335-338, 524. 

Sugar-cane. 258. 

Sugar-factory, an Egyptian, 257, 258. 

Sugar-planting, around Malaga, 64 ; on the 
Nile, 251. 

Suicides, at Milan, 154 ; from heights, 154. 

Sulem, a honey-field, 443, 444. 

Suliman, the first to plant the Crescent in 
Europe, 532. 

Suliman the Magnificent, surrender of Rhodes 
to, 500 ; mosque of, 550. 

Sultan of Turkey, celebration of his birthday, 
544 ; weekly journey for worship, 550, 553. 

Sultan Hassan, Mosque of, 213, 216. 

Sultans, portraits of the, 557 ; violent deaths 
of, 561. 

Sumner, Charles, the biographer of, 495. 

Sun, the, worship of, 219 ; symbol of human 
life, 226 ; the sacred emblem of, 268 ; sup- 
posed effect on statue of Memnon, 297, 298. 

Sunstroke, threatened, 479. 

Sun-worshipers, extinction of, 219. 

Superior, Lake, view on the road to Damas- 
cus like to, 479. 

Supernatural cures, 8. 

Superstition, in Spain, 10, 71 ; among Mo- 
hammedans, 99, 125 ; concerning St. Peter, 
181 ; in Italy, 200; concerning the Mosque 
of Amer, 214 ; on the Nile, 250 ; among the 
Nubians, 312, 313 ; among Tartars, 313 ; 
among Jews of Jerusalem, 418 ; in Bulgaria, 
568. 

Surf-boats at Nemours, 119. 

Surveying, study of, in Egypt, 240. 

Sweating column, a, 540. 

Sweden, Bernadotte, king of, 8. 

Sweet Waters of Asia, the, 561. 

Sweet Waters of Europe, the, 561. 



Index. 



6n 



" Swellings of Jordan," 410. 

Swimming in the Dead Sea, 406, 409. 

Swine, the devils and the herd of, 471. 

Switzerland, mountains of, compared with the 
Atlas range, 134 ; first road to Italy from, 
157 ; fertility, 203 ; the Sea of Galilee com- 
pared with the lakes of, 462. 

Sword, alliance with the Koran, 543 ; Mo- 
hammedan veneration for the, 543. 

Swords, of Cyprus, the, 498. 

Sychem, 438. 

Syene, 310. See also Assouan. 

Syenite, distinguished from granite, 306. 

Sylla, 509. 

Symbolic mythology of Egypt, 321, 322. 

Symbols, the origin of Scripture, 431. 

Symi, the divers of, 500. 

Symplegades, the, 548. 

Syouth. See Asyoot. 

Syria, assassins in, 218 ; boundaries of Egypt 
extended into, 276 ; sculpture of historic 
scene in, 284, 287 ; permanency of wells and 
rock tombs in, 396, 397 ; St. Jerome's pil- 
grimage from Rome to, 399 ; the Greek 
Church in, 419 ; the Russo-Greek Church 
in, 419; troubles in, 477 ; extinct volcanoes, 
478 ; horses, 483 ; the most important sea- 
port and commercial town in, 492 ; the 
best physician in, 495 ; mission work in, 
495, 496 ; St. Paul's voyage to, 498. 

Syrian Protestant College at Beirut, 492, 495. 

Syrians, Riwak of the, 325 ; Chapel of the, 
393 ; the saddles of, 483 ; colonization of 
Cyprus, 498. 

Tabernacle, site of the first, 434. 

Tableaux, living, 258. 

Tablets, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Tabor, Mount, Barak's encampment on, 

445 ; monasteries on, 449, 450 ; supposed 

scene of the Transfiguration, 475, 476 ; in 

the time of Joshua, 476. 
Tacitus, records the eruption of Vesuvius, 196. 
Tagus, River, 34. 
Taharka, statue of, 321. 
Talmudists, in Tiberias, 465. 
Tambourines, use, by howling dervishes, 329. 
Tangier, landing at, 82 ; scenery, incidents, 

people, etc., 82-100; slave-market in, 91; 

prison, 91, 92 ; climate, 93 ; secret vices in, 

93 ; the eye of Africa, 100 ; Bay of, 82. 
Tarbes, bishop of, 4. 

Taric, invades Spain and kills Roderick, 55. 
Tarifa Point, in. 

Tariff, the inconveniences of a protective, 10. 
Tarik, Gebal, landing at Gibraltar, no. 
Tarpeian Rock, 177. 
Tarquin the Elder, 174. 
Tarquin the Superb, 174. 
Tarshish, the navy of, 108 ; Jonah's voyage 

from Joppa to, 342. 
Tartars, superstition among, 313 ; costume, 

547 ; in Constantinople, 547 ; of the Crimea, 

the, 559. 
Tartessus, the supposed Tarshish, 342. 
Tax, the mosque, 550. 
Taxation, in Morocco, 98 ; in Egypt, 215. 
Taylor, Bayard, on the Boolak Museum, 322. 
Taylor, Dr. William M., 130. 
Tea, a cup of, for the Second Coming, 422. 
Tears of Christ, the. 200. 
Teeth, curious, in a mummy, 320. 
Tekke, the convent of, 553. 
Tel-el-kadi, 472. 

32 



Telescope, Galileo's exposition of the, 167. 

Tell region of Algeria, 120, 130. 

Tempe, the classic vaie of, 503. 

Tempio di Cremazione, at Milan, 154. 

Temple, the building of Solomon's, 342 ; re- 
built by Zerubbabel, 342 ; route of materials 
for the, 346 ; burning of the, 356 ; elevation 
of, 366; the building of the, 373; the 
Beautiful Gate of the, 374 ; total disappear- 
ance of the second, 377 ; Herod's, 377 ; de- 
struction of the, by Titus, 377 ; supposed 
site of Solomon's, 377. 

Temple of Diuna, the, 511 ; compared with the 
Parthenon, 512 ; destruction of, 512 ; com- 
pared with the Olympieum of Athens, 519. 

Temple of Goornah, or Koornah, 284. 

Temple of Nike, 520. 

Temple of Rameses II, 284. 

Temple of the Sun, 219 ; contribution to 
Santa Sophia, 540. 

Temples, of Ephesus, 510-512; reasons for 
Egyptian, 538. 

Temptation, the scene of Christ's, 413. 

Tenedos, 532. 

Tent-making, in Ephesus, 513. 

Tentyrites, the crocodile and the, 269, 270. 

Tersato, removal of the Virgin's house from 
Nazareth to, 454. 

Texas, analogy between the Jordan and 
rivers of, 474. 

Thames, the river, 275, 370, 547. 

Thames Embankment, Cleopatra's Needle 
on the, 208. 

Thebaid, the, 302, 310. 

Thebes, approach to, 275 ; situation, scenery, 
mystery, and history, 275-278 ; trade in 
antiquities, 278 ; besieged by Ptolemy, 
282; the plain of, 294 ; entertainment by 
U. S. consul at, 299, 300; material of the 
temples of, 302: a collection of photographs 
of, 303 ; Ethiopian occupation of, 321 ; con- 
versation with a Mohammedan at, 333; 
difference between Jerusalem and, 355. 

Themistocles, tomb of, 515; the city of, 523. 

Theodosius, Emperor, birthplace, 49 ; paint- 
ing of, 150 ; the Christian, 177 ; consults a 
holy monk, 264 ; supposed foundation of 
Temple of Denderah under, 267; abolishes 
the Christian religion in Egypt, 309. 

Theodosius II, rebuilds church of Santa So- 
phia, 540. 

Theopompus, birthplace of, 503. 

Theseus, the city of, 519. 

Thessalonians, Paul's Epistle to the, 531. 

Thessalonica, 531. 

Thief, the penitent, alleged birthplace of, 349. 

Thieves, site of the crosses of the, 394. 

Thompson, Joseph, reports travels in Moroc- 
co, 94, 97. 

Thomson, Dr., on the story of Napoleon at 
Jaffa, 344 ; on the rose of Sharon, 346; on 
the site of Arimathea, 347; on the Via 
Dolorosa, 386 ; on the situation of Nabulus, 
441; connection with the American Mission 
in Syria, 495. 

Thorns, the crown of, 385. 

Thothmes I, builds at Karnak, 276 ; intro- 
duces the horse into Egypt, 276; the 
daughter of, 280. 

Thothmes II, extends the boundaries of 
Egypt, 276; coffin and mummy of, 320. 

Thothmes III, growth of Thebes under, 276 ; 
campaigns of, 282; sacrificial tablets of, 319. 

Thrace, Samian colony in, 503 ; ancient, 567. 



6l2 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Thracian Bosporus, the, 535. 

Three Serpents, the Column of the, 560. 

Thucydides, historian of the Greeks, 503 ; 
the city of. 523. 

Thy, tomb of, 249, 250. 

Tiberj River, 177, 503. 

Tiberias, hot baths at, 461 ; sanitary condi- 
tion, 461, 466; Jewish burial-ground at, 
465 ; importance, 465 ; divine service at, 
465; bigotry of Jews in, 466; climate, 466 ; 
in the time of Christ, 467 ; defeat of the 
Christians by Saladin at, 487. 

Tiberias, Sea of. See Sea of Galilee. 

Tiberius, the Saturnine, 177 ; construction of 
Temple of Denderah in time of, 267 ; his 
name in the Temple of Denderah, 269 ; 
contribution to the Temple of Isis, 309; 
building of Tiberias in his honor, 465. 

Tiger and bull fight, 78. 

Tigris, River, highway Indian commerce, 158. 

Tih, tomb of, 249, 250. 

Time, the gnawing tooth of, 519. 

Time and the Pyramids, 221. 

Timotheus, Timothy, the first bishop of 
Ephesus, 513; at Ephesus and in Mace- 
donia, 513 ; St. Paul's wait for, 521. 

Timsah, Lake, 337. 

Tinkling ornaments, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Tirhakah, statue of, 321. 

Titian, paintings by, 23, 171. 

Titles, use of high-sounding, 67 ; of nobility, 
172 ; fondness of Italians for, 200. 

Titus, the Obstinate, 177 ; the Triumphal 
Arch of, 178, 355 ; siege of Jerusalem, 355, 
356 ; route of the army of, into Jerusalem, 
370; watches the destruction of the Tem- 
ple, 377 ; celebrates his victories at Banias, 
474- 

Tobacco, government monopoly of manufac- 
ture in Spain, 43, 44 ; forbidden in Tangier, 
93 ; use of hasheesh with, 218 ; Druse hor- 
ror of, 478 ; in Damascus, 483. 

Tokay wine, the manufacture of, 572. 

Toledo, mountains of, 19 ; situation, charac- 
teristics, etc., 34-36 ; the language of, 34 ; 
see, 34 ; population, 34 ; cathedral, 35, 36 ; 
the castle, 36 ; cutlery and swords of, 36. 

Tomb of the Bulls, the, 319. 

Tophane, 536 ; significance of the name, 548. 

Tornos, Cipriano, Presbyterian minister in 
Madrid, 28. _ 

Torre Annunziata, 193. 

Torture-chamber of Venice, 165. 

Toulon, 138. 

Tourist companies, the advantages of, 342 ; 
rival, 342. 

Tournefort, Joseph P. de, on the approach to 
Constantinople, 532. 

Tower of David, the, 417, 419, 422. 

Tower of London, likeness to the Seven 
Towers of Constantinople, 560. 

Towei of Ramleh, 347. 

Towle,G.M. /'Principalities of Danube," 571. 

Trade winds, influence of, in Africa, 239. 

Tradition, verifying a, 381. 

Traditions, land of, 344 ; of Mohammedans, 
378, 381 ; a wilderness of, 385 ; ludicrous, 
417 ; concerning tomb of Maimonides, 465. 

Trafalgar, Cape, 82. 

Trajan, birthplace, 49; Triumphal Arch of, 
162 ; the Grand, 177 ; Column of, 178 ; con- 
tribution to the Temple of Isis, 309. 

Transfiguration, the scene of, 450, 475, 476 ; 
Raphael's painting of, 186. 



Translator, the perils of a Turkish. 563-565. 

Transmigration of souls, Druse belief in, 478. 

Trappist monks, enterprising, 203. 

Treating, the Greek custom of, 529. 

Treaty of Berlin, status of Servia under the, 
57 1; 

Trebizond, captured by Venice, 158. 

Treviso, conquered by Venice, 158. 

Tribes, the Gate of the, 374. 

Tribuna, the, Florence. 167. 

Tribute-money, Christ's payment of, 468. 

Trinity, Mohammedan denial of the, 323, 378. 

Triumphal Arches: at Milan, 157; of Con- 
stantine, 181 ; of Nero, 162 ; of Titus, 178 ; 
of Trajan, 162. 

Troas, contributions to Santa Sophia, 540. 

Trogyllium, 503. 

Tunis, 120. 

Turanians, in Smyrna, 506. 

Turbans, in Cairo, 212 ; Coptic, 332. 

Turbulence, not an Italian characteristic, 
201. 

Turk, explanation of the term, 559 ; the odium 
of the name, 560; anecdote of a, 560. 

Turkey, battle of Navarino, 205 ; the Sultan's 
gift to Napoleon III, 382; delays of the 
government, 489; Greece's successful re- 
volt against, 528 ; grants charter to Robert 
College, 554 ; portraits of the Sultans, 557 -, 
status of Protestants, 560 ; censorship of the 
press, 562-565 ; perils of a translator in, 
563-565; an expurgated hymnal in, 565; 
changes under the Treaty of Berlin, 567. . 

Turkish baths, use of, in Buda-Pesth, 572. 

Turkish Empire, feelings on approaching 
th^, 341 ; the power of the, 400. 

Turkish guards, bribery of, 474. 

Turkish power, origin of the, 559. 

Turkish soldiers, at the Tower of David, 417. 

Turkomans of Khiva, the, 559. 

Turks, in Gibraltar, 107 ; in Assouan, 305 ; 
opposition to Miss Mangan's mission at 
Jaffa, 343, 344 ; their impartial control of 
Jerusalem, 425 ; in Smyrna, 506 ; religious 
freedom granted by the, 507 ; evacuation 
of Greece by the, 516 ; capture of Corinth 
by, 528; final capture of Constantinople, 536; 
pilgrimages of, to Joshua's tomb, 548 ; at 
Robert College, 555 ; origin, 559 ; number, 
559 ; characteristics, 559-561 ; toleration of 
the, 559 ; treatment of women, 559, 561, 
562 ; wit, 560 ; hospitality, 561 ; etiquette, 
561, 562; seat of government at Adrianople,, 
567 ; wars of the Servians with the, 571. 

Turks' blood, 571. 

Turquoises, ancient Egyptian, 321. 

Tuscany, 168, 169. 

Tusks, trade in, at Asyoot, 263. 

Twain, Mark, fame of, 236, 237. 

Typhoid fever, outbreak on a Nile steamer, 
317,318; Mr. McFadden sick with, 317-319. 
Tyrannus, Paul in the school of, 512. 
Tyre, masons and carpenters of, 342. 
Tyropceon, the Valley of, 356. 

Udine, conquered by Venice, 158. 

" Ullah-u-Akbar," 487. 

Ulterior Spain, 36. 

Umbrellas, use of, in Egypt, 277. 

Unbelief, not necessarily a sign of decaying 

religion, 325. 
Unclean animals, Mohammed's prohibition. 

of , 3 2 3- 
United Kingdom, area and population, 115. 



Index. 



613 



United Presbyterian Church, mission in Mad- 
rid, 28 ; mission at Asyoot, 264; mission in 

Egypt, 33 2 i 333- 

United States, consumption of Bordeaux 
wines, 2 ; France's aid to, 2, 3 ; the protect- 
ive tariff of, 10 ; improvident waste of 
forests in, 19 ; use of high-sounding titles 
in, 67; slave-trade in, 91 ; insignificant 
naval force, 104 ; consular service, 105 ; war 
with Algiers, 127, 128 ; beauties of, 192 ; 
Italians in, 201, 202 ; Cleopatra's Needle 
presented to, 208 ; irrigation, 240 ; Protes- 
tant mission in Egypt from, 332, 333 ; credit 
due to, for Dead Sea exploration, 406 ; 
leprosy in, 426, 427 ; a reminder of slavery 
in, 431; represented on Mars' Hill, 521; 
money raised for Robert College in, 554. _ 

Unity of God, the, Mohammedan belief in, 
378 ; scene of revelation of, to Abraham, 490. 

Uriah Heep, a Palestine variety of, 451, 452. 

Urumia, Lake, relative saltness of, 409. 

Utah, irrigation in, 240 ; plural marriages, 
324 ; salt deposits, 406. 

Uzzah, his offense and his punishment, 350. 

" Vain thing for safety, a," 396. 

Valencia, the bull-ring in, 74, 77. 

Valois, Margaret of, persecutes Calvin, 8. 

Van Benschoten, Prof., letters from, 522. 

Vandals, in Seville, 43; ravage France, 52; 
struggles with Visigoths, 52 ; settlement in 
Spain, 52 ; in Egypt, 249. 

Vanderbilts, a member of the family arouses 
jealousy in Constantinople, 557. 

Van Dyck, paintings by, in Florence, 171. 

Van Dyke, Dr., connection with the Ameri- 
can Mission in Syria, 495; translates the 
Bible into Arabic, 495. 

Vanity, a weakness of human nature, 67 ; in- 
centive to suicide, 154; an Italian charac- 
teristic, 200. 

Vantine, A. A., 504, 506. 

Varm, River, 139. 

Vatican, the, 185, 186 ; neglect of Jerusalem 
by, 421. 

Vegetable-peddlers, in Egypt, 210. 

Vegetables, immense, in Jaffa, 344. 

Vegetarian monks, 404. 

Vegetarians, a paradise for, 43. 

Vehemence, an Italian characteristic, 201. 

Veil, the Mohammedan, 547. 

Veils, ancient Egyptian, 320. 

Velasquez, paintings in Madrid, 23. 

Vendetti, Italian, 200. 

Vendramin Calergi, the palace, 166. 

Venice, dread of the Moors at, 99 ; black- 
mailed by Algiers, 127 ; history, 158 ; con- 
quest of Dalmatia by, 158 ; decay of com- 
merce, 158 ; situation, 158-161 ; gondolas, 
161 ; Piazza and Church of San Marco, 162 ; 
a common error regarding, 162 ; Palace of 
the Doges, 165 ; Bridge of Sighs, 165 ; 
Roman Catholic mission church, 166; Grand 
Canal, 166; Campanile, 166; Galileo at, 167 ; 
a wonderful ass at, 202 ; relics of, at Cor- 
inth, 527 ; capture of Aero-Corinth by, 528. 

Venice of the North, the, 161, 162. 

Venus, paintings of, in Florence, 171 ; wor- 
ship of, in Corinth, 528. 

" Venuses, sable," 306. 

Vermont, compared with Nazareth, 453. 

Verona, conquered by Venice, 158 ; a won- 
derful ass at, 202. 

Veronica, St., tomb of, 386 ; tradition, 386. 



Verus, Q. Granius, of Pompeii, 190. 

Vespasian, expedition against Palestine, 355. 

Vesuvius, 188, 193-199 ; eruptions, 193, 195, 
196 ; railroad up, 193 ; ascent, 193-196; his- 
tory, 195 ; work, 196-199 ; view from, 528. 

Via di Circonvallazione a Monte, 145. 

Via Dolorosa, the, 382, 385. 386. 

Vice, influence of, on insanity, 217, 218 ; at 
Port Said, 338. 

Vicenza, conquered by Venice, 158. 

Victor Emmanuel, gallery of, 154 ; tomb of, 
178 ; entry into Naples, 192. 

Victoria, Queen, extent of empire, 115, 116. 

Victoria Hospital, Cairo, 319. 

Victoria Nyanza, source of the Nile, 238. 

Vienna, dread of the Moors at, 99 ; Naples 
compared, 191 ; size of Jerusalem compared, 
357; an art rival of, 572 ; in the city, 573. 

Vila, Senor, persecution of, 64. 

Villa Diomedes, the, 199. 

" Ville de Naples," the, 137. 

Viminal Hill, 177. 

Vinci, Leonardo da, 149, 154, 155 ; monument 
at Milan, 154; in Florence, 167; paintings 
by, in Florence, 171. 

Vindictiveness, of Italians, 200. 

Vines, at Shechem, 436. 

Vineyards, at Buda-Pesth, 572. 

Violence, in Spain, 70. 

Virgil, residence near Naples, 187, 192 ; tomb 
of, 192. 

Virgin, the Holy, miracles of, 4-8 ; Grotto of 
the, 7 ; sandal of the, 26-28; a black, 126; 
paintings of, in Florence, i7r ; Helena's 
pilgrimage to house of, 202, 203 ; tomb of, 
365 ; efficacy of prayer to, 390 ; scene of the 
Nativity, 399 ; house of, at Nazareth, 454 ; 
residence in Ephesus, 513. See also Mary. 

" Virgin and Child," painting of, by St. 
Luke, 172, 185. 

Virgin's Fountain, the, 361, 362. 

Virgin's Tree, the, 219. 

Virtue, in Spain, 6g. 

Visigoths, enter Spain, 52 ; struggles with 
Vandals, 52. 

Visions, of Bernadette Soubirous, 4-8. 

Viticulture, near Athens, 516. 

Viturii, dispute between Genoa and the, 144. 

Vocal statue of Memnon, the, 297. 

Voice, peculiarity of human, in insanity, 329. 

Volatility, a French characteristic, 200. 

Volcanoes, hypothesis concerning, 196 ; ex- 
tinct, in Syria, 478 ; near Damascus, 483. 
See also Vesuvius. 

Vulcan, the Forge of, 194. 

Wady Halfah, 263. 

Wagner, Richard, death of, 166. 

Wailing-place of the Jews, the, 382. 

Waldensians, evangelical work of, 203, 204. 

Waldstein, Dr. Charles, 522. 

Wales, Prince of, visit to the Pyramids, 221 ; 
fame of, 236. 

Wales, Princess of, visit to the Pyramids, 221. 

Wallachian Princess, munificence of a, 413. 

War, effect of, at Karnak, 279 ; effects in the 
Soudan, 305. 

Warner, Charles Dudley, on Egyptian travel, 
241 ; on scenery of the Nile, 258 ; an omis- 
sion by, 264 ; records a crocodile in the Nile, 
273; mention of " Antiquity Smith," 278. 

War of the Spanish Succession, no. 

Warsaw, dread of the Moors at, 99 ; visit of 
the Czar to, 544. 



614 



Travels in Three Continents. 



Washburn, Rev. George, president of Robert 

College, 555. 
Washington, George, eulogy of Lafayette, 13. 
Watch-towers, in Palestine, 345. 
Water-carriers, in Egypt, 210, 294 ; women as, 

266 ; in Jerusalem, 362. 
Watering-places, scanty attire at, 284. 
Water-jars, manufacture of porous, 266. 
Waterpots, in Cana of Galilee, 458, 461. 
Waters, scale of relative freshness of, 409. 
Waters of everlasting life, origin of the sym- 
bol, 455- 
Water-wheels, use of, in Egypt, 274; in Nubia, 

312 ; in the plain of Sharon, 345. 
Way of Grief, the, 382, 385, 386. 
Wealth, the foundation of, 146; the Nubian 

standard of, 312. 
Weary Man's Village, the, 548. 
Weddings, barbarous ceremonies at Abyssin- 
ian, 421. 
Welfare, the Stone of, 250. 
Wellington, Duke of, siege of San Sebastian, 
11 ; gifts to the Alhambra, 51 ; declines 
offer of the Alhambra, 57 ; monument to, 
at Gibraltar, in. 
Wells, permanency of Syrian, 396, 397. 
" Wending their way," illustration of the 

phrase, 444. 
Wesleyans, mission in Madrid, 29 ; at Gibral- 
tar, 108. 
West Africans, Riwak of the, 325. 
Western Africans, the Gate of the, 374. 
Western civilization, a magnificent presenta- 
tion of, in Beirut, 496. 
Western Empire, fall of the, 177. 
West Indies, British area and population, 115. 
Westminster Abbey of Venice, the, 166. 
Wheat, thrashing in Morocco, 99 ; cultivation 

of, in Egypt, 240. 
Whip, the use of, in Egypt, 257. 
White, Andrew D., meeting with Gen. Grant, 
207 ; in Cairo, 335 ; meeting with, at Ath- 
ens, 516. 
White Nile, the, 238. 

Whittier, John G., "Among the Hills," 467. 

Whittling, a Greek equivalent of Yankee, 530. 

Widow's son, raising the, 444. 

Wild beasts, gladiatorial combats of Jews. 474. 

Wilkinson, Sir J. G., on chronology of the 

Pyramids, 229; on the age of Memphis, 

247 ; Egyptologist, 266 ; on the antiquity of 

Thebes, 276 ; chronology of Menes, 322. 

Wi' son i Prof. Erasmus, aids in removal of 

Cleopatra's Needle, 208. 
Wimples, ancient Egyptian, 320. 
Winding-sheets, a standard of measurement 

for, 390. 
Windmill Hill, Gibraltar, no. 
Wine of Bordeaux, 2 ; use, in Egypt, 216, 217. 
Wisdom, allegorical figure on Columbus's 

statue, 143. 
Wise Men, the spot where they saw the Star 

in the East, 397. 
Wit, of Turks, 560. 

Witch of Endor, Saul's consultation with, 446. 
Wives, Mohammedan plurality of, 324 ; the 

Salt Lake system, 324. 
Wolf, sacredness of, in Egypt, 263. 
Wolsey, Cardinal, modern use of his palace 

in London, 165. 
Wolves, mummies of, 263 ; the City of, 263. 
Woman of Samaria, the, 436, 438. 
Women, fabled beauty in Seville, 44 ; position 
in the Alhambra, 55 ; religious devotion, 



63 ; standard of virtue in Spain, 69 ; the 
confessional and, 71 ; in Tangier, 85 ; in 
Morocco, 91 ; Jewish, 91 ; among the 
Moors, 122 ; among the Kabyles, 133 ; at 
Monte Carlo, 141 ; restrictions on, in 
Genoa, 144 ; provision for, in Genoa, 145 ; 
charges against those of Paris, 191 ; cover- 
ing the face in Egypt, 218 ; care of lunatic, 
in Cairo, 218, 219; on the Nile, 250; fasci- 
nation of Egyptian girls, 256 ; aversion of 
the holy monk John to, 264 ; as water- 
carriers, 266, 294, 362 ; working in Egypt, 
278 ; scanty attire at watering-places, 284 ; 
sufferings from heat, 294; smoking, 299; 
dancing, in Thebes, 299 ; deceptive appear- 
ance of age in Egyptian, 299, 300; in 
Egyptian symbolic mythology, 322 ; in 
Salt Lake City, 324 ; status in Moham- 
medan countries, 324 ; peculiar effect of 
insanity on the voice of, 329 ; in the 
Presbyterian missions in Egypt, 332 ; 
scene of Christ's address to the, 386 ; ex- 
cluded from convent of Mar Saba, 403 ; 
polygamy in Palestine, 433 ; Bedouin, 443, 
472; stories of those of Symi, 500; modern 
Greek, 528, 529 ; Albanian, 528, 529 ; ad- 
vantage over men, 529 ; prejudice against, 
at Mount Athos, 532 ; costume of Greek 
and Mohammedan, 547 ; Turkish ideas 
about, 559, 561, 562 ; beauties of Ciicassia, 
561 ; costume of Servian, 571. See also 
Costume. 

W^od, John T., discovery of the Temple of 
Diana, 511. 

Wool, trade of Damascus in, 480. 

Works and faith, a curious mixture of, 492. 

World, the supposed center of the, 381. 

Worship, the lowest point of, 418 ; the most 
authentic remnant of primitive, in Pales- 
tine, 436. 

Worst town in the world, the, 338. 

Wortman, Dr. Denis, author of " Reliques of 
the Christ," 456. 

Wouverman, Philip, paintings at Madrid, 23. 

Wrecks, on the Nile, 251. 

Writing, the spread of, 169 ; Dr. Petrie's dis- 
coveries concerning, 335. 

Wurtemberg, a peculiar sect of, 422. 

Xenophon, 509. 

Xerez de la Fontera, battle of, 55. 

Xerxes, 509 ; his bridge of boats. 532. 

Yalo, the valley of, 348, 349. 
Yankee, a Connecticut, at Thebes, 278. 
Yankee custom, a Greek equivalent of a, 530. 
" Yankee Doodle," in Egypt, 216. 
Yusuf I, wealth of, 55 ; contributions to the 
Alhambra, 55. 

Zechariah, tomb of, 362 ; term for the Mount 
of Olives, 369. 

Zerin, 442, 443. 

Zerubbabel, rebuilding of the Temple by, 342. 

Zeruiah, the mother of Joab, 355. 

Zin, the Wilderness of, 284. 

Zincke, F. B., comparison of the Nile with the 
Platte, 239 ; on the wiles of Egyptian girls, 
256 ; opinion of an antique statue, 320. 

Zion, Mount, 356, 417, 422. 

Zion, the castle of, captured by David, 355. 

Zion Gate of Jerusalem, 374, 417, 419. 

Zion Street. Jerusalem, 417. 

Zoological Station, Naples, 190. 



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